f  I 


Main  Ub.   ^IST. 


•  *••         THE  ASCENSION  OF  MOHAMMED. 
frpm.D'Ohjsqrfa  'Thble^u  &entrctl  de  V Empire  Othoman. 


MOHAMMED' 

AND 

THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM 


BY 

D.  S.  MARGOLIOUTH 


THIRD  EDITION 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
3be  •Knickerbocker  press 


(3P76- 
A?3 
1906 


b 


Copyright,  1905 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


ttbe  fmfclterbocRer  f>re««,  Hew  Uorfe 


•  .•  •    • 


•  •  .•-•» 


•  ••  •.:•  •  • 
:•  :.• :  ••• 


•  •    •  •• 


PREFACE 


THE  biographers  of  the  Prophet  Mohammed* 
form  a  long  series  which  it  is  impossible  to 
end,  but  in  which  it  would  be  honourable 
to  find  a  place.  The  most  famous  of  them  is  prob- 
ably Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  f  while  the  palm  for  elo- 
quence and  historical  insight  may  well  be  awarded 
to  Gibbon.  \ 

During  the  time  when  Gibbon  wrote,  and  for  long 
after,  historians  mainly  relied  for  their  knowledge  of 
the  life  of  Mohammed  on  the  Biography  of  Abu'l- 
Fida,  who  died  in  the  year  722  A.H.,  1322  A.D.,  of 
whose  work  Gagnier  produced  an  indifferent  edition. § 
The  scholars  of  the  nineteenth  century  were  natur- 
ally not  satisfied  with  so  late  an  authority ;  and  they 
succeeded  in  bringing  to  light  all  the  earliest  docu- 
ments preserved  by  the  Mohammedans.     The  merit 

*  Of  the  sources  of  the  biography  of  the  Prophet  a  valuable  ao 
count  is  given  by  E.  Sachau,  Ibn  Sad  III.,  i.,  Preface. 

\  The  Life  and  Death  of  Mahomet,  London,  1637.     (If  genuine.) 

\  Among  eloquent  accounts  of  Mohammed,  that  in  Mr.  Reade's 
Martyrdom  of  Man,  14th  ed.,  260  foil.,  deserves  mention.  That 
by  Wellhausen  in  the  introduction  to  Das  Arabische  Reich  und  sein 
Sturz  is  masterly  in  the  extreme. 

§  Oxford,  1723.  Abu'1-Fida  is  referred  to  as  the  chief  authority 
perhaps  for  the  last  time  by  T.  Wright,  Christianity  in  Arabia. 

iii 

222387 


iv  Preface 

of  discovering  and  utilising  these  ancient  works  is 
shared  by  G.  Weil,  Caussin  de  Perceval,  F.  Wiisten- 
feld,  A.  Sprenger,  and  Sir  William  Muir ;  and  the 
Lives  of  Mohammed  by  the  last  two  of  these  writers  * 
are  likely  to  be  regarded  as  classical  so  long  as  there 
are  students  of  Oriental  history  in  Europe;  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  Muir's  Life  is  written  with  a 
confessedly  Christian  bias,  and  that  Sprenger's  is  de- 
faced by  some  slipshod  scholarship  and  untrust- 
worthy archaeology.f 

Since  these  works  were  composed,  knowledge  of 
Mohammed  and  his  time  has  been  increased  by  the 
publication  of  many  Arabic  texts,  and  the  labours  of 
European  scholars  on  Mohammedan  antiquities.  % 
The  works  of  I.  Goldziher,  J.  Wellhausen,  and  Th. 
Noldeke  have  elucidated  much  that  was  obscure,  and 
facilitated  the  understanding  of  Arabian  history  both 
before  and  after  the  Prophet.  And  from  the  follow- 
ing Arabic  works,  most  of  which  have  been  published 
since  Sprenger  and  Muir  wrote,  many  fresh  details 
of  interest  and  even  of  importance  occasionally  have 
been  furnished. 

i .  The  Musnad,  or  collection  of  traditions  of  Ahmad 
Ibn  Hanbal,  who  died  in  241  A.H.,  (855  A.D.:  Cairo, 


*  Muir's,  London,  1857-1861  ;  Sprenger's  (2d  ed.),  Berlin,  1869. 

f  Wellhausen's  judgment  of  it  ( Wakidi,  pp.  24-26)  is  absolutely 
fair  and  sound. 

\  The  most  important  Lives  of  Mohammed  which  have  appeared 
in  Europe  are  those  by  L.  Krehl  (Leipzig,  1884),  H.  Grimme  (Miins- 
ter,  1892-1895),  F.  Buhl  (Copenhagen,  1903).  The  new  editions  of 
Grimme's  work  and  of  Wollaston's  Half-hours  with  Mohammed, 
and  the  magnificent  work  of  Prince  Caetani  were  published  too  late 
for  the  present  writer  to  utilise. 


Preface  v 

1890,  in  six  volumes,  fol.).  In  this  work  the  sayings 
of  the  Prophet  recorded  by  different  individuals  are 
given  in  separate  collections  for  each  individual.  The 
same  tradition  is  sometimes  given  ten,  twenty,  or 
even  a  hundred  times.  Much  of  the  matter  is 
scarcely  to  be  found  elsewhere,  and  is  likely  to  be 
genuine.  The  account  of  this  work  given  by  Gold- 
ziher,  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  1.  463-599,  is  of  course  excellent. 

2.  The  gigantic  Commentary  on  the  Kora?i  by  the 
historian  Tabari,  who  died  310  A.H.,  (922  A.D.:  Cairo, 
1902- 1904,  in  thirty  volumes,  fol.).  This  commentary 
is  for  the  historian  of  far  greater  value  than  the  pop- 
ular commentaries  of  Zamakhshari  and  Baidawi,  who 
lived  many  centuries  later,  and  were  influenced  by 
later  controversies. 

3.  The  fsaba/i,  or  Dictionary  of  Persons  who  knew 
Mohammed,  by  Ibn  Hajar  (Calcutta,  1853-1894, 
four  volumes).  In  spite  of  the  late  date  of  the  author 
of  this  great  dictionary,  his  work  is  historically  valu- 
able, owing  to  the  fact  that  it  embodies  matter  taken 
from  sources  which  are  no  longer  accessible.  Ibn 
Hajar  was  possessed  of  an  extraordinary  library. 

4.  The  works  of  early  Arabic  writers,  especially 
the  polygraph  'Amr,  son  of  Bahr,  called  Al-Jahiz, 
who  died  in  255  A.H.  (868  A.D.).  Of  his  works  there 
are  now  accessible  three  edited  by  the  late  Van 
Vloten,  and  the  treatise  on  rhetoric  published  in 
Cairo.  Though  not  dealing  directly  with  Moham- 
med, they  contain  many  an  allusion  which  it  is  pos. 
sible  to  utilise. 

The  present  writer  has  gone  through,  in  addition 
to   these  (so  far  as  they   were  accessible  to  him), 


vi  Preface 

the  authorities  utilised  already  by  his  predecessors, 
of  which  the  chief  are  enumerated  in  the  Biblio- 
graphy. One  of  these,  the  Class  Book  of  Ibn  Scid 
{pb.  230  A.H.,  845  A.D.)  is  in  course  of  publication. 

Since  the  authors  of  books  in  this  series  have  the 
number  of  their  pages  limited,  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  abbreviate,  and  this  has  been  done  by 
omitting  three  kinds  of  matter : 

1.  Translations  of  the  Koran  (except  in  the  rarest 
cases). 

2.  All  anecdotes  that  are  obviously  or  most  prob- 
ably fabulous. 

3.  Such  incidents  as  are  of  little  consequence 
either  in  themselves  or  for  the  development  of  the 
narrative. 

Some  principles  for  estimating  the  credibility  of 
traditions  are  given  by  Muir  in  his  Introduction,  and 
by  Goldziher  in  his  Muhammadanische  Studien.  A 
few  important  observations  bearing  on  this  subject 
are  also  made  by  Noldeke,  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  Hi.,  16,  foil. 
The  number  of  motives  leading  to  the  fabrication  of 
traditions  was  so  great  that  the  historian  is  in  con- 
stant danger  of  employing  as  veracious  records  what 
were  deliberate  fictions.  I  can  only  hope  that  I 
have  not  displayed  greater  credulity  than  my  pre- 
decessors. In  condemning  traditions  as  unhistorical 
I  have  ordinarily  considered  the  obelus  of  Goldziher, 
Noldeke,  or  Wellhausen  as  sufficient. 

The  standpoint  from  which  this  book  is  written 
is  suggested  by  the  title  of  the  series.  I  regard 
Mohammed  as  a  great  man,  who  solved  a  political 
problem  of  appalling  difficulty, — the  construction  of 


Preface  vii 

a  state  and  an  empire  out  of  the  Arab  tribes.  I  have 
endeavoured,  in  recounting  the  mode  in  which  he 
accomplished  this,  to  do  justice  to  his  intellectual 
ability  and  to  observe  towards  him  the  respectful 
attitude  which  his  greatness  deserves ;  but  otherwise 
this  book  does  not  aim  at  being  either  an  apology  or 
an  indictment.  Indeed  neither  sort  of  work  is  now 
required.  The  charming  and  eloquent  treatise  of 
Syed  Ameer  Ali  *  is  probably  the  best  achievement 
in  the  way  of  an  apology  for  Mohammed  that  is 
ever  likely  to  be  composed  in  a  European  language, 
whereas  indictments  are  very  numerous — some  dig- 
nified and  moderate,  as  is  the  work  of  Sir  William 
Muir;  others  fanatical  and  virulent. f  These  works 
are  ordinarily  designed  to  show  the  superiority  or  in- 
feriority of  Mohammed's  religion  to  some  other  sys- 
tem ;  an  endeavour  from  which  it  is  hoped  that  this 
book  will  be  found  to  be  absolutely  free. 

There  are  two  forms  of  literature  to  which  I  should 
especially  wish  to  acknowledge  obligations.  One  of 
these  consists  of  works  in  which  we  have  authentic 
biographies  of  persons  who  have  convinced  many  of 
their  fellows  that  they  were  in  receipt  of  divine 
communications;  in  particular  I  may  mention  the 
history  of  modern  Spiritualism,  by  F.  Podmore,^: 
and  the  study  on  the  founder  of  Mormonism,  by  I. 
W.  Riley. §     For  the  employment  of  "revelations" 

*The  Spirit  of  Islam,  London,  1896,  Calcutta,  1902. 

\  Bottom  is  probably  touched  by  the  New  but  True  Life  of  the  Car~ 
penter,  including  a  New  Life  of  Mohammed,  by  Amos  :  Bristol,  1903. 

\  Modern  Spiritualism,  London,  Macmillan,  1902. 

%A  Psychological  Study  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  London,  Heine- 
man  n,  1903. 


viii  Preface 

as  a  political  instrument,  and  for  the  difficulties 
which  attend  the  career  of  Prophet-statesman, 
the  life  of  Joseph  Smith  (the  founder  of  Mor- 
monism)  furnishes  illustrations  of  the  most  in- 
structive character;  only  the  biographer  of 
Mohammed  must  envy  the  wealth  and  authenticity 
of  the  material  at  Dr.  Riley's  disposal,  without 
which  the  formulae  of  modern  psychology  could  not 
have  been  applied  to  the  interpretation  of  Smith's 
career  so  successfully  as  Dr.  Riley  has  applied 
them. 

A  second  class  of  works  are  those  in  which  savage 
life  is  described  at  first  hand  :  and  among  these  the 
Autobiography  of  James  P.  Beckwourth  deserves 
special  notice.  There  are  chapters  in  that  work 
where  by  substituting  camel  for  horse  we  might  find 
a  reproduction  of  Bedouin  manners  and  institutions  ; 
and  the  question  of  Beckwourth's  veracity  does  not 
affect  the  general  truth  of  his  descriptions. 

Finally,  I  have  to  thank  various  persons  from 
whom  I  have  derived  assistance.  I  am  indebted  for 
many  suggestions  and  improvements  to  the  Editor 
of  the  Series,  to  J.  P.  Margoliouth,  and  to  the  Rev. 
W.  J.  Foxell,  who  have  read  and  re-read  the  proofs ; 
to  Mr.  A.  E.  Cowley,  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College, 
for  advice  in  the  selection  of  coins  ;  to  Dr.  J.  Ritchie, 
Fellow  of  New  College,  and  Mr.  R.  B.  Townshend 
for  guidance  with  regard  to  medical  and  anthropo- 
logical works ;  and  to  Mr.  G.  Zaidan,  editor  of  the 
Cairene  journal  Hilal,  for  leave  to  reproduce  certain 
plates  that  have  appeared  in  his  magazine,  and  also 
for  the  names  of  certain  Arabic  works  with  which  I 


Preface 


IX 


was  not  previously  acquainted.  Mr.  Zaidan  is  well 
known  in  Arabic-speaking  countries  as  a  historian, 
novelist,  and  journalist;  and  I  hope  that  ere  long  I 
may  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  some  of  his 
works  to  English  readers. 


In  the  second  edition  certain  errors  have  been  corrected,  to  which 
the  author's  attention  was  called  by  Pere  Lammens,  S.J.,  of  Beyrut, 
and  Prof.  I.  Goldziher. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

PREFACE .  iU 

LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 

TRANSLITERATION XVU 

CHRONOLOGY xix 

GEOGRAPHY Xxi 

CHAPTER  I 
THE    BIRTHPLACE    OF    THE    HERO       ....  I 

CHAPTER  II 
EARLY    LIFE    OF    MOHAMMED 45 

CHAPTER  III 
ISLAM    AS    A    SECRET    SOCIETY      ,  .  .  .83 

CHAPTER  IV 
PUBLICITY Il8 

CHAPTER  V 

HISTORY    OF    THE    MECCAN    PERIOD  .  .  .  •       l$2 

xi 


xii  Contents 

CHAPTER  VI 

PAGE 

THE    MIGRATION  185 

CHAPTER  VII 
THE    BATTLE    OF    BADR 234 

CHAPTER  VIII 
PROGRESS    AND    A    SETBACK 275 

CHAPTER  IX 
THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    THE   JEWS    ....      309 

CHAPTER  X 
STEPS   TOWARDS    THE    TAKING    OF    MECCAH       .  .       338 

CHAPTER  XI 
THE    TAKING    OF    MECCAH 377 

CHAPTER  XII 
THE   SETTLEMENT    OF    ARABIA  ....      410 

CHAPTER   XIII 
THE    LAST    YEAR 444 

INDEX 473 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGK 

THE  ASCENSION  OF  MOHAMMED  .  Frontispiece 

From   D'Ohsson's    Tableau  antral  de  P  Empire 
Othoman. 

TOMB  OF  EVE  AT  JEDDAH 6 

SHERIF'S  HOUSE  AT  MECCAH 12 

COIN,  WITH  ABYSSINIAN  KING  APHIDAS  ON  OBVERSE, 
AND  ON  REVERSE  THE  LAST  JEWISH  KING  OF 
YEMEN,  DHU  NUWAS  OR    DIMEAN        ...  36 

From  Rlippell,  Reise  in  Abessinien,  t.     viii.,  pi. 
vi.;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  344  and  429. 

THE  WELL  ZEMZEM 48 

From  Ali  Bey's  Travels. 

VIEW  OF  ARAFAT 5 1 

BEDOUIN  ARABS  STORY-TELLING        ...»         59 
Drawn  by  Alfred  Fredericks. 

THE  BLACK  STONE 79 

From  Ali  Bey's  Travels. 

POSTURES  OF  PRAYER 102 

xiii 


xiv  Illustrations 

PAGE 

MOSQUE  OF  OMAR,  JERUSALEM  .  .  .  .128 

From    Archer     and    Kingsford's     Story    of    the 
Crusades. 

M.      EARLY  MOSLEM  COIN 133 

(Bodleian   Library.)     Cf  Lane- Poole,   Or.    Coins 
of  the  British  Museum,  i.,  p.  174,  4. 

AR.       COIN  OF  KHOSROES  II.,  WITH  MOSLEM  FORMULA 

ADDED 133 

Bodleian  Library. 

AV.       COIN    OF  HERACLIUS    I.    AND    HERACLIUS   CON- 
ST ANTINE  .  .  .  .  .  .  •       ^33 

(Bodleian     Library.)      Cf.     Sabatier,     Monnaies 
Byzantines,  pi.  xxix.,  18. 

AR.       COIN  OF  KHOSROES  II 133 

(Bodleian    Library.)      Cf.    Longperier,    Dynastie 
Sassanide,  pi.  xi.,  4. 

JE.       MOSLEM    IMITATION     OF    COIN     OF    HERACLIUS, 

STRUCK  AT  EMESA I33 

(Bodleian   Library.)     Cf.  Lane- Poole,   Or.    Coins 
of  the  British  Museum,  ix.,  p.  6. 

VIEW  OF  MASSOUA  ......       157 

From  a  lithograph. 

OBELISKS  AT  AXUM 160 

From  an  engraving. 

ON  THE  ROAD  TO  MEDINAH 2IO 

CUFIC    KORAN    IN    THE    BODLEIAN   LIBRARY,    SURAH 

LXXII.,  27,   28,  AND  LXXIII.,    1,2.  .  .       219 

CAMELS  OF  BURDEN  RESTING 244 

From  De  Laborde's  Voyage  en  Syrie. 


Illustrations  xv 

PACK 

A  CARAVAN  HALTED  252 

From  a  photograph. 

ARAB  WOMAN  ATTENDING  WOUNDED  MAN         .  .       291 

From  Mayeux's  Bedouins. 

TOMB  OF  THE  MARTYRS  NEAR  MEDINAH  .  .       306 

CARAVAN  FACING  JEBEL  NUR  .  .  .  ,      311 

THE  DROMEDARY  OF  THE  DESERT     ....      341 
Etching  by  R.  Swain  Gifford. 

PANORAMA  OF  MECCAH 345 

From  the  "Hilal,"  1902. 

LETTER    OF    THE    PROPHET     TO    THE     "MUKAUKIS," 

DISCOVERED     BY      M.     £TIENNE      BARTH£l£mY  ; 

BELIEVED     BY     SEVERAL   SCHOLARS   TO    BE     THE 

ACTUAL    DOCUMENT      REFERRED      TO     IN      THE 

TEXT  ...  ....       365 

From  the  "Hilal,"  Nov.  1904. 

VIEW  OF  MINA 372 

From  All  Bey's  Travels. 

PILGRIMS  LEAVING  ARAFAT 382 

THE  KA'BAH  WITH  THE  STATION  OF  ABRAHAM  .      386 

From  the  "Hilal." 

THE  HOLY  CARPET 394 

From  the  "Hilal." 

A  BEDOUIN  ON  A  CAMEL 436 

SABJEAN  INSCRIPTION 440 

In  the  British  Museum. 


XVI 


Illustrations 


THE  REMAINS  OF  A  PALACE  AT  AXUM 
From  an  engraving. 

THE  HOLY  MOSQUE  AT  MECCAH 
From  the  "Hilal." 

THE  Ka'bAH  WITH  PILGRIMS  PRAYING 

PLAN  OF  MECCAH 

MAP  OF  ARABIA  IN  THE  7TH  CENTURY  A.D. 

MAP    OF     WEST      CENTRAL     ARABIA     IN     THE 
7TH  CENTURY  A.D.  .... 


PAGE 

.  443 
.  444 
.     460 

>  AT  END 


TRANSLITERATION 

In  this  matter  the  example  of  Noldeke  and  Well- 
hausen  in  their  popular  writings  has  been  followed. 
The  mode  of  transliteration  is  similar  to  that  in  use  at 
Cairo  for  ordinary  purposes.  The  Arabic  letters  are 
represented  by  those  English  letters  or  combinations 
of  letters  which  come  nearest  to  the  Arabic  sounds: 
one  who  is  acquainted  with  the  original  language 
will  without  difficulty  be  able  to  identify  the  words 
and  names  ;  whereas,  to  the  reader  who  is  ignorant  of 
Arabic,  further  differentiation  by  means  of  diacritic 
points  (e,  g.t  s,  t,  k)  is  of  no  value.  A  few  proper 
names  that  are  familiar  have  been  left  in  their 
popular  forms. 


CHRONOLOGY 

COMPARATIVE  tables  of  months  and  days 
as  between  the  Mohammedan  and  Christian 
eras  are  to  be  found  in  Wiistenfeld,  Vergleich- 
ungstabellen  der  Muhammedanischen  und  Christ- 
lichen  Zeitrechnung,  2d  ed.,  Leipzig,  1903  ;  copied  in 
Tre'sor  de  Chronologie,  Paris,  1889.  Others  are  in  Dub- 
baneh's  Universal  Calendar,  Cairo,  1896,  and  (in 
Arabic)  the  Taivfikiyydt  of  Mukhtar  Basha,  Cairo, 
131 1.  For  the  first  nine  years  of  Islam  these  tables 
are  somewhat  misleading,  since  they  assume  that 
the  pre-Islamic  Calendar  was  purely  lunar,  whereas  it 
is  certain  that  it  was  not.  Moreover  the  occasional 
notices  of  the  weather  during  the  Prophet's  expe- 
ditions, etc.  (collected  by  Wellhausen,  W.  p.  17,  sq., 
Reste,  pp.  94-101),  disagree  seriously  with  Wusten- 
feld's  synchronisms;  in  some  cases  by  antedating 
the  events  by  two  and  a  half  months  tolerable  cor- 
respondence is  obtained.  It  is  not  however  possible 
to  make  out  enough  of  the  pre-Islamic  Calendar  to 
substitute  a  detailed  scheme  for  Wustenfeld's ;  and 
it  has  been  pointed  out  by  Winckler  (Altorie?italische 
Forschungen,  ii.,  324-350)  that  the  Calendar  of  Medi- 
nah  may  well  have  been  different  from  that  of  Mec- 
cah,  the  same  month-names  having  quite  different 


xx  Chronology 

values  at  the  two  cities.  His  investigations  into 
the  origin  of  the  Arabic  Calendar,  which  have  been 
amplified  by  D.  Nielsen,  Die  Altarabische  Mond- 
religion,  Strassburg,  1904,  are  of  no  practical  import- 
ance for  fixing  the  dates  of  events  during  the  early 
years  of  the  Hijrah.  The  date  of  the  Flight  itself  (8 
Rabi'  I.,  Sept.  20,  622)  is  fixed  by  the  tradition  that 
the  Prophet  arrived  at  Kuba  on  the  Jewish  Day  of 
Atonement.  Another  date,  that  of  the  burial  of  the 
Prophet's  son  Ibrahim,  is  fixed  by  the  solar  eclipse, 
7-9  A.M.,  Jan.  27,  632 ;  but  the  synchronism,  28 
Shawwal,  A.  H.  10,  is  not  in  agreement  with  the 
Arabic  records,  which  put  the  event  in  some  other 
month.  The  traditions  bearing  on  this  subject  are 
discussed  by  Rhodokanakis,  IV.  Z.  K.  M.f  xiv.,  78  ; 
another  synchronism  suggested  ibid,  from  the  lunar 
eclipse  of  Nov.  19-20,625,  identified  with  13  Jumada 
II.  A.  H.  4,  is  useless,  since  the  month  and  year  in 
the  Arabic  tradition  are  uncertain.  To  a  further 
synchronism,  connected  with  the  Prophet's  birth, 
discussed  by  Mahmoud  Efendi,  Sur  le  Calendrier 
Arabe  avant  V  fslamisme,  an  allusion  is  sufficient. 


GEOGRAPHY 

THE  political  conditions  of  Arabia  will  have  al- 
tered very  considerably  before  any  scientific 
exploration  and  surveying  of  the  country  are 
possible.  The  maps  which  have  been  added  to  this 
volume  are  intended  as  an  unpretentious  aid  to  those 
who  would  follow  the  campaigns  of  the  Prophet  and 
the  gradual  extension  of  his  sphere  of  influence. 
For  both,  the  author  has  availed  himself  of  Sprenger's 
classical  works  on  Arabian  geography — Die  Post-  und 
Reiserouten  des  Orients,  Leipzig,  1864,  and  Die  alte 
Geographie  Arabiens,  Bern,  1875.  For  the  map  of 
Central  Arabia,  use  has  further  been  made  of  Wiisten- 
f eld's  Das  Gebiet  von  Medina,  Gottingen,  1873,  and 
also  of  the  measurements  given  by  Al-Bekri  in  his 
Geographical Dictionary,  ed.  Wiistenfeld,  1876;  valu- 
able information  about  the  modern  nomenclature  of 
this  part  of  Arabia  is  to  be  found  in  the  monographs 
Die  geographische  Lage  Mekkas,  by  J.  J.  Hess,  Frei- 
burg (Schweiz),  1900,  and  Der  Hedjaz  und  die  Strasse 
von  Mekka  ?iach  Medina,  by  B.  Moritz,  Berlin,  1890. 
The  map  of  the  location  of  Tribes  is  based  on 
the  monograph  of  Blau,  Z.D.M.G.,  xxiii.,  Arabien 
im  sechsten  Jahrhundert,  whose  results  have  been 
modified  in  part  from  Hamdani's  Geography  of  the 


xxii  Geography 

Arabian  Penifisula,  ed.  Miiller,  1891,  and  in  part  from 
the  authorities  already  mentioned.  The  results  of 
exploration  in  Arabia  down  to  the  year  1875  are  weu* 
summarised  by  A.  Zehme  in  the  work  called  A rabien 
und  die  Araber  seit  100  Jahren,  Halle,  1875;  while 
D.  Hogarth's  Penetration  of  Arabia,  London,  1904, 
summarises  more  recent  enterprise.  The  plan  of 
Meccah  which  is  reproduced,  is  that  of  Burckhardt,  as 
modified  by  Wustenfeld  in  the  fourth  volume  of  his 
Chroniken  der  Stadt  Mekka,  Leipzig,  1861  ;  its  cor- 
rectness is  attested  by  the  greatest  modern  authority 
on  Meccah,  Snouck  Hurgronje,  who  adopts  it  with 
very  trifling  alterations  in  his  article  in  the  Verhand- 
lungen  der  geographischen  Gesellschaft  zu  Berlin, 
xiv.,  138,  foil.,  1887,  as  well  as  in  his  classical  work 
on  Meccah. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY* 

i .  Lives  of  Mohammed  and  Histories  of  the  early  days  of 
Islam : 

Ibn  Ishak  (quoted  in  the  notes  as  Ishak),  ob.  about 
150  a.h.,  767  a.d.:  his  work  (so  far  as  is  at  present  known) 
exists  in  two  abridgments  only:  that  by  Ibn  Hisham,  ob. 
218  a.h.,  833  a.d.,  which  has  been  published  by  Wiistenfeld, 
Gottingen,  i860,  and  later  by  Zubair  Pasha;  and  that  by 
Tabari,  ob.  310  a.h.,  922  a.d.,  embodied  in  his  Chronicle, 
published  at  Leyden,  1882-1885. 

Wakidi,  ob.  207  a.h.,  823  a.d.,  author  of  a  treatise  on 
Mohammed's  Campaigns,  of  which  an  imperfect  edition  was 
issued  by  von  Kremer,  Calcutta,  1856;  an  abridged  transla- 
tion of  a  far  more  perfect  copy  was  made  by  Wellhausen  and 
published  with  the  title  Muhammed  in  Medina,  Berlin,  1882. 
To  this  last  reference  is  made  as  Wakidi  (W.). 

Ibn  Sa'd,  Secretary  of  Wakidi,  ob.  230  a.h.,  845  a.d.; 
author  oi  an  encyclopaedic  work  on  the  Prophet,  his  followers, 
etc.,  of  which  three  volumes  have  thus  far  been  published 
at  Berlin  under  the  superintendence  of  E.  Sachau. 

Ya'kubi,  ob.  about  292  a.h.,  905  a.d.,  author  of  a  history 
in  two  parts,  Pre-Islamic  and  Islamic,  published  by  Houtsma, 
Leyden,  1883. 

Ibn  al-Athir,  ob.  630  a.h.,  1233  a.d.,  author  of  a  Universal 
History,  published  at  Leyden  and  in  Egypt. 

Diyarbekri,  ob.  982  a.h.,  1574  a.d.,  author  of  a  Life  of  the 
Prophet,  followed  by  a  sketch  of  Islamic  history,  called 
Ta'rikh  al-Khatnis,  published  at  Cairo,  1302  a.h. 

*  Works  mentioned  in  the  Preface  are  not  repeated  here. 


xxiv  Bibliography 

Halabi,  ob.  1044  a.h.,  1634  a.d.,  author  of  a  Life  of  the 
Prophet,  called  Insan  al-'uyun,  published  at  Cairo,  1292  a.h. 

2.  Books  of  Tradition  (i.e.  collections  of  sayings  attri- 
buted to  the  Prophet,  and  traced  back  to  him  through  a 
series  of  trustworthy  witnesses) : 

Musnad  of  Ibn  Hanbal.     See  Preface. 

Collection  by  Bokhari,  ob.  256  a.h.,  870  a.d.:  the  un- 
finished edition  by  Krehl,  Leyden,  1 864-1 868,  is  quoted  as 
Bokhari  (K.);  for  the  parts  wanting  in  this  edition  that  of 
Cairo,  13 12,  has  been  used;  Bokhari  (Kast.)  refers  to  the 
sixth  edition  of  the  Commentary  of  Kastalani,  Cairo,  1306  a.h. 

Collection  by  Muslim,  ob.  261  a.h.,  875  a.d.,  published  at 
Cairo,  1290  a.h. 

Collection  by  Tirmidhi,  ob.  279A.H.,  892  a.d.,  published 
at  Cairo,  1292,  in  two  volumes,  and  Lucknow,  130 1,  in  one 
volume. 

Collection  by  Nasa'i,  ob.  303  a.h.,  916  a.d.,  published  at 
Cairo,  13 14  a.h. 

These  collections  are  enumerated  in  order  of  importance. 
The  remaining  authentic  collections,  by  Malik  Ibn  Anas,  ob. 
179  a.h.,  795  a.d.,  Ibn  Majah,  ob.  273  a.h.,  887  a.d.,  and  Abu 
Dawud,  ob.  275  a.h.,  889  a.d.,  have  not  been  cited. 

3.  Commentaries  on  the  Koran: 

Tab.  or  Tabari  (Comm.)  refers  to  the  Commentary  on  the 
Koran  by  the  historian  whose  date  has  been  given  above, 
recently  published  at  Cairo.  Other  commentaries  occa- 
sionally cited  are  those  by  Zamakhshari,  ob.  538  a.h., 
1 144  a.d.;    Baidawi,  ob.  691  a.h.,  1292  a.d. 

Of  modern  works  on  the  Koran,  Preserved  Smith,  The 
Bible  and  Islam,  New  York,  1897,  is  occasionally  cited;  the 
author  has  further  profited  by  the  treatises  of  H.  Hirschfeld, 
though  he  has  had  no  occasion  to  cite  them.  The  remaining 
Arabic  works  occasionally  cited  in  the  notes  will  be  familiar 
to  scholars. 

4.  History  of  Meccah  and  Medinah : 

History  of  Meccah  by  Azraki,  ob.  about  245  a.h.,  859  a.d., 


Bibliography  xxv 

edited  by  Wustenfeld,  Leipzig,  1858.  The  editor  has  ap- 
pended in  two  volumes  extracts  from  other  and  later  his- 
torians of  Meccah,  and  in  a  third  volume  a  German  epitome 
of  the  whole. 

History  of  Medinah  by  Samhudi,  ob.  911  a.h.,  1505  a.d., 
published  at  Cairo,  1285  a.h.:  epitomised  by  Wustenfeld  in 
his  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Medina,  Gottingen,  1873. 

Modern  works  on  Meccah  and  Medinah. 

Burckhardt's  Travels,  quoted  from  the  French  transla- 
tion, Paris,  1835. 

Burton's  Pilgrimage  to  Al-Medinah  and  Meccah,  Memorial 
edition,  London,  1893. 

A.  H.  Keane,  Six  Months  in  the  Hejaz,  London,  1887. 

Soubhy,  Pelerinage  a  la  Mecque  et  b,  Medine,  Cairo,  1894. 

Muhammad  Basha  Sadik,  The  Pilgrim's  Guide  (Arabic), 
Cairo,  1313  a.h.,  1895  a.d. 

Gervais-Courtellemont,  Mon  Voyage  a  la  Mecque,  Paris, 

1897. 

Sabri  Pasha,  Mirror  of  the  Two  Sanctuaries  (Turkish), 
Constantinople,  1886. 

5.  Works  of  I.  Goldziher: 

M.S.,  abbreviation  for  Muhammadanische  Studien,  Halle, 
1889,  1890. 
Abhandlungen  zur  arabischen  Litteratur,  Leyden,  1896, 1899. 

6.  Of  Th.  Noldeke: 

Geschichte  des  Korans,  Gdttingen,  i860. 

Das  Leben  Muhammeds,  Hannover,  1863. 

Geschichte  der  Perser  und  Araber  zur  Zeit  der  Sasaniden, 
Leyden,  1879. 

Die  Ghassanischen  Fursten  aus  dem  Hause  Gafna's,  Berlin, 
1887. 

Sketches  of  Eastern  History,  trans,  by  Black,  London,  1896. 

7.  Of  J.  WTellhausen: 

Muhammed  in  Medina,  see  above;    the  introduction  and 
notes  are  cited  as  Wellhausen  (W.)  or  (Wakidi). 
Reste  arabischen  Heidenthums,  Berlin,  1897. 
Skizzen  und  Vorarbeiten,  viertes  Heft,  Berlin,  1889. 


XXVI 


Bibliography 


Die  Ehe  bei  den  Arabern,  GSttingen,  1893. 

Das  arabische  Reich  und  sein  Sturz,  Berlin,  1902. 

Numerous  articles  by  these  writers  in  the  Z.  D.  M.  G. 
(Zeitschrift  der  deutschen  trior genldndischen  Gesellschaft)  and 
W.  Z.  K.  M.  {Wiener  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Kunde  des  Morgen- 
landes)  are  also  cited;  J.  R.  A.  S.  stands  for  Journal  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society. 


MOHAMMED 


MOHAMMED 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  BIRTHPLACE  OF  THE  HERO 

AT  some  time  in  the  year  594  of  our  era,  a  cara- 
van bearing  the  merchandise  of  a  wealthy 
woman  at  Meccah  was  safely  conducted  to 
Bostra  and  safely  brought  back  with  profits  propor- 
tionate to  the  risk  of  the  undertaking.  Of  the  quali- 
ties necessary  for  the  conduct  of  such  an  expedition 
many  differ  little  from  those  required  by  a  successful 
general :  ability  to  enforce  discipline,  skill  in  evading 
enemies  and  courage  in  meeting  them,  the  power  to 
discriminate  false  news  from  true,  and  to  penetrate 
into  other  men's  designs.  And  when  the  mart  has 
been  safely  reached,  and  the  leader  of  the  caravan 
or  agent  has  to  sell  the  goods  entrusted  to  him  so  as 
to  obtain  the  best  return,  another  set  of  qualities 
are  called  into  play ;  of  which  fidelity  to  his  em- 
ployer is  the  chief,  but  patience  and  shrevdness  are 
also  indispensable.  The  leader  of  the  expedition  to 
Bostra,  Mohammed,  the   orphan  son  of  Abdallah, 

X 

I 


1  f<< *  <<r  Mohammed 

then  a  man  of  twenty-five,  had  displayed  the  neces- 
sary qualities,  and  given  satisfaction  to  his  employer, 
the  widow  Khadijah,  who  was  perhaps  some  years 
his  senior.  As  a  reward  for  his  services  the  widow 
bestowed  on  him  her  hand,  thereby  securing  for 
herself  and  for  her  spouse  a  place  in  history. 

Over  the  country  which  they  made  famous  there 
lies  a  veil  which  even  at  the  beginning  of  this  twen- 
tieth century  is  only  lifted  at  the  fringe.*  The  ex- 
plorer still  enters  the  interior  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 
Official  chronicles  of  the  vicissitudes  of  its  govern- 
ments are  rarely  kept ;  their  historians  are  visitors, 
to  whom  curiosity  or  some  other  motive  gives  cour- 
age to  enter  the  forbidden  land.  Religious  fanati- 
cism was  introduced  by  Islam,  as  an  addition  to  the 
dangers  of  the  country ;  otherwise  the  Arabia  of 
the  twentieth  century  is  similar  to  the  Arabia  of 
the  sixth. 

Of  the  Arabs  before  Islam,  an  account  is  said  to 
have  been  given  f  by  one  of  their  princes  in  answer 
to  the  Persian  king,  who  declared  every  other  race 
superior  to  them.  What  nation,  he  asked,  could 
be  put  before  the  Arabs,  for  strength  or  beauty  or 
piety,  courage,  munificence,  wisdom,  pride,  or  fidel- 
ity? Alone  among  the  neighbours  of  the  Persians, 
the  Arabs  had  maintained  their  independence.  Their 
fortresses  were  the  backs  of  their  horses,  their  beds 
the  ground,  their  roof  the  sky ;  when  other  people 
entrenched  themselves  with  stone  and  brick,  the 
Arab's  defence  was  his   sword  and    his  hardihood. 


*  See  D.  Hogarth,  Penetration  of  Arabia,  1904. 

+  To  be  found  in  many  "  Adab  "  books,  e.  g.,  Ikd  Farid,  Alif-Bd. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  3 

Other  nations  knew  nothing  of  their  pedigrees,  but 
the  Arab  knew  his  genealogy  up  to  the  father  of 
mankind,  whence  no  man  could  ever  obtain  admis- 
sion into  a  tribe  which  was  not  his  own.  So  liberal 
was  he  that  he  would  slaughter  the  camel  which  was 
his  sole  wealth  to  give  a  meal  to  the  stranger  who 
came  to  him  at  night.  No  other  nation  had  poetry 
so  elaborate  or  a  language  so  expressive  as  theirs. 
Theirs  were  the  noblest  horses,  the  chastest  women, 
the  finest  raiment;  their  mountains  teemed  with 
gold  and  silver  and  gems.  For  their  camels  no  dis- 
tance was  too  far,  no  desert  too  wild  to  traverse. 
So  faithful  were  they  to  the  ordinances  of  their  re- 
ligion that  if  a  man  met  his  father's  murderer  un- 
armed in  one  of  the  sacred  months  he  would  not 
harm  him.  A  sign  or  a  look  from  one  of  them  con- 
stituted an  engagement  which  was  absolutely  invio- 
lable. If  he  guaranteed  protection,  and  his  clients 
came  to  harm,  he  would  not  rest  till  either  the  tribe 
of  the  injurer  were  exterminated  or  his  own  perished 
in  the  quest  of  vengeance.  If  other  nations  obeyed 
a  central  government  and  a  single  ruler,  the  Arabs 
required  no  such  institution,  each  of  them  being  fit 
to  be  a  king,  and  well  able  to  protect  himself ;  and 
unwilling  to  undergo  the  humiliation  of  paying 
tribute  or  bearing  rebuke. 

This  description,  like  many  an  encomium,  requires 
considerable  modification  before  it  will  tally  with  the 
truth.  After  the  spread  of  Islam  men  began  to  care 
for  their  pedigrees,  and  genealogy  came  to  be  a  recog- 
nised subject  of  study.  But  before  Islam,  genealo- 
gies   were   never  committed   to   writing  and   only 


4  Mohammed 

in  exceptional  cases  were  they  remembered.  The 
population  of  Central  Arabia  had  the  vaguest  notion 
of  the  way  in  which  they  had  come  there.  The 
introduction  of  the  Old  Testament  was  a  boon  to  the 
archaeologists,  when  such  arose,  because  in  it  they 
found  the  beginnings  of  genealogies,  to  which,  by 
calculation  of  time  and  arbitrary  insertions,  they 
could  attach  the  pedigrees  with  which  they  were 
acquainted.  Only  in  the  rarest  cases  are  those  pedi- 
grees likely  to  be  historical  for  more  than  a  couple 
of  generations  before  the  commencement  of  Islam : 
the  theory  of  the  genealogists  which  derives  all 
tribes  from  eponymous  heroes,  and  so  makes  all 
Kurashites  descendants  of  Kuraish  and  all  Kila- 
bites  descendants  of  Kilab,  breaks  down  over  a 
variety  of  facts  which  modern  research  has  rightly 
appraised,  and  of  which  ancient  archaeology  was  not 
wholly  ignorant :  totemism,  the  institution  of  poly- 
andry, the  separation  of  the  ideas  connected  with 
parentage  and  procreation,  all  of  which  are  attested 
for  the  nomad  Arabs.  The  genealogical  unity  of  the 
tribe  was  a  fancy  often  superimposed  on  what  in 
origin  was  a  local  unity,*  or  union  of  emigrants 
under  a  single  leader,f  or  some  other  fortuitous 
combination.^  Genuine  family  ties,  if  any  were  pre- 
served, were  thus  mixed  by  the  genealogists  with 
products  of  the  fancy,  till  the  fragments  of  real 
history  were  absorbed  beyond  recognition  in  the  arti- 
ficial tables.     A  man  was  known  to  belong  to  a  clan, 

*Goldziker,  M.  S.,  i.,  64. 

\Noldeke,  Z.  D.  M.  G.t  xl.,  159. 

\  Sprenger,  A  lie  Geographie  Arabiens,  290. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  5 

and  that  clan  was  likely  to  be  considered  a  branch 
of  a  tribe.  But  the  steps  which  connected  the  indi- 
vidual with  the  founder  of  the  clan,  and  those 
whereby  the  clan  was  deduced  from  the  tribe,  repre- 
sented theory,  rarely  a  genuine  tradition ;  and 
instances  are  not  wanting  of  both  persons  and  clans 
being  artificially  grafted  on  tribes  with  which  they 
had  no  physical  connection. 

Greater  accuracy  may  be  attributed  to  the  state- 
ment about  the  piety  of  the  Arabs,  so  far  as  it 
concerns  the  observation  of  the  sacred  months;  for 
Greek  writers  attest  the  same.  For  three  autumn 
months*  and  one  spring  month  a  truce  of  God  was 
observed  by  many  tribes,  who  therein  laid  down 
their  arms  and  shed  no  blood.  This  institution,  in 
the  fixed  form  which  it  had  assumed  by  th^:om- 
mencement  of  Islam,  must  have  been  the  result  of 
many  stages  of  development,  and  was  itself  fruitful 
in  effects.  It  cannot  be  severed  from  the  desire  to 
visit  a  sanctuary  and  celebrate  a  feast,  and  indeed 
the  two  seasons  correspond  with  those  of  the  birth 
of  domestic  animals  and  the  harvesting  of  fruit. 
The  month  before  and  the  month  after  that  in 
which  the  more  important  visit  was  paid  may  have 
been  included  in  the  time  for  the  benefit  of  distant 
visitors,  who  thereby  were  enabled  to  arrive  and 
return  in  safety.  For  those  who  had  no  great  dis- 
tance to  traverse  the  truce  provided  a  period  in 
which  they  could  recover  from  the  ravages  of 
ronstant   warfare,    and    by   secure    communication 

*  Nonnosus  and    Procopius:    "two  months    after    the    summer 
solstice,  and  one  in  mid  spring." 


6  Mohammed 

interchange  ideas  as  well  as  produce.  In  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  sanctuaries  fairs  arose,  at  some 
time  or  other  so  organised  that  the  period  of 
waiting  was  divided  between  them.  Thus  then  the 
tribes  that  visited  the  shrine  preserved  or  evolved 
the  idea  of  a  common  nationality:  while  some  of 
the  ceremonies  kept  up  the  memory  of  original 
distinctions.  The  fair  of  '  Ukaz  *  in  particular 
served  a  purpose  similar  to  that  for  which  the  great 
games  of  Greece  were  utilised.  Matters  which  were 
thought  to  concern  the  whole  Arabian  family  could 
be  communicated  there,  and  opportunities  were 
given  for  the  gratification  of  other  than  warlike 
ambitions.  Regarded  as  the  home  of  the  Arabian 
family, 'Ukaz  was  a  place  where  women  could  be 
wooeAf 

Meccah,  the  Prophet  Mohammed's  home,  where 
dwelt  a  trading  society,  was  within  easy  distance 
of  several  of  these  fairs.  The  community  which 
had  settled  there  had  abandoned  the  nomad  life, 
though  it  maintained  the  memory  of  it  % ;  and  early 
writers  §  preserve  the  tradition  of  a  time  when 
Meccah  was  inhabited  in  only  two  seasons  of  the 
year,  the  winter  being  spent  in  Jeddah  on  the 
coast,  and  the  summer  at  the  neighbouring  oasis  of 
Ta  'if.  Though  theological  speculation  made  the 
Moslems  assign  to  their  religious  capital  a  fabulous 

*A  brilliant  description  of  it  in  Wellhausen,  Reste,  88-91.  He 
holds  that  the  localities  of  the  fairs  must  originally  have  been 
sanctuaries. 

f  Wellhausen,  Eke,  442. 

\  Jahiz,  Mahasin,  226. 

§  Jahiz,  Opuscula^  62. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  J 

antiquity,  more  sober  tradition  placed  the  building  of 
the  first  house  at  Meccah  only  a  few  generations  be- 
fore Mohammed's  time ;  this  act  being  ascribed  to  a 
member  of  the  tribe  Sahm,  whose  name  was  vari- 
ously given  as  Su'aid  son  of  Sahm  *  and  Sa'd  son  of 
'Amr.  f  The  former  would  be  separated  by  three 
generations  from  the  Prophet,  while  the  latter  would 
be  still  nearer  his  age.  $  This  first  house  is  not  de- 
scribed, but  was  probably  a  primitive  form  of  dwell- 
ing. Although  a  poet  speaks  of  the  people  of  the 
Tihamah  as  building  houses  with  clay  and  mortar,  it 
is  probable  that  construction  of  this  sort  was  carried 
on  at  Meccah  on  a  small  scale.  The  second  Caliph  § 
found  fault  with  brick  building;  as  indeed  the 
Prophet  had  done  before  him  ||;  the  best  houses 
were  probably  rude  erections  of  roughly  hewn 
stone.  The  remaining  dwellings  were  probably  en- 
closures, containing  variations  between  huts  and 
tents.T* 

The  community  which  had  settled  in  the  valley 
of  Meccah,  or  Beccah,  a  ravine  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  long  and  a  third  of  a  mile  broad  stretching  from 
north-east  to  south-west,  somewhere  about  the  middle 
of  Arabia,  at  a  distance  of  seventy  miles  from  the 
western  coast,  cannot,  when  they  selected  this  spot, 
have  hoped  to  live  by  its  produce ;  for  that  the  soil 

*  Chronicles  of  Meccah,  Hi.,  15. 
f  Isabah,  ii.,  915. 

\  WUstenfeld,  Genealogische  TabeZIen. 
%/ahiz,  Bayan,  ii.,  25. 
||  Afusnad,  iii. ,  220. 

T  From  Azraki  it  would  appear  that  the  Prophet's  house  had  no 
roof. 


8  Mohammed 

is  incapable  of  producing  anything  is  attested  by  all 
who  know  it,  from  the  author  of  the  Koran  to  the 
present  day.  Their  presence  there  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  by  their  sanctuary,  called  the  Ka'bah, 
not  indeed  the  only  Ka'bah,  or  cube-shaped  God's 
house,  in  Arabia,  yet  one  that  attracted  many  visi- 
tors. It  stood  in  some  relation  to  the  Black  Stone, 
let  into  the  north-west  corner,  kissed  by  devotees ; 
and  since  both  Greek  and  Arabic  writers  attest  that 
the  Arabs  worshipped  stones,  many  have  thought 
this  to  be  the  real  god  of  the  Meccans,  the  Ka'bah 
itself  being  an  ideal  enlargement  of  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Ka'bah  in  Mohammed's  time  certainly 
contained  the  image  of  one  god  as  well  as  repre- 
sentations of  others.  There  was  yet  another  theory 
that  the  Ka'bah  contained  a  tomb,  whence  it  may  in 
origin  have  been  a  tent  erected  over  a  grave  by  a 
mourner,  anxious  to  remain  near  the  lost  one  *  ;  and 
indeed  that  the  stone  Ka'bah  replaced  an  original 
tent  is  attested  by  its  being  roofless,  save  for  a 
cloth,  till  Mohammed's  time.f  Sanctity  being  a 
quality  that  spreads  by  contact,  either  the  Black  Stone 
or  the  Image  or  the  Tomb  originally  gave  sanctity 
to  the  Ka'bah  which  contained  them ;  and  the  area 
of  sanctity  by  Mohammed's  time  extended  over 
some  square  miles.  If  we  are  justified  in  referring 
the  statements  of  Greek  writers  concerning  a  great 
Arabic  sanctuary  to  the  Meccan  Ka'bah,  and  in  sup- 
posing those  statements  to  be  correct,  the  sanctity 
of    this    building    was   in   the   sixth    century  a.d. 

*  For  this  practice,  see  Goldzihery  M.  S.,  i.,  255. 
f  Azraki,  106, 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  9 

recognised  over  a  considerable  portion  of  Arabia. 
Visits  were  paid  to  it  both  at  fixed  seasons  of  the 
year  and  at  times  dictated  by  the  pilgrims'  conven- 
ience. Persons  who  wished  to  curse  their  neigh- 
bours or  enemies  came  even  from  a  distance  to  the 
Ka'bah,  where  their  imprecations  were  certain  to  be 
heard.*  And  a  vast  number  of  customs  and  cere- 
monies grew  up  round  this  building,  many  of  which 
are  not  yet  obsolete,  and  offer  the  anthropologist 
scope  for  conjecture,  while  the  theologian  can  find 
in  them  some  profound  significance.  The  real  im- 
port of  most  of  them  was  probably  forgotten  before 
Mohammed's  time.f 

The  Arabs  suppose,  and  indeed  are  compelled  by 
their  system  to  suppose,  that  the  Ka'bah  was  earlier 
than  the  Kuraish,  the  tribe  which  we  find  dominant 
at  Meccah  in  the  sixth  century  of  our  era.  It  is 
probable  that  this  is  correct.  The  possession  of  a 
temple  to  which  pilgrimages  are  made  is  a  valuable 
asset,  since  pilgrims  can  be  made  to  pay  for  leave  to 
visit  the  god  ;  such  a  tax  was  levied  by  the  Kuraish 
on  foreign  visitors,^  and  the  right  to  collect  it  is  likely 
to  have  been  a  matter  for  contention.  Even  with- 
out this  material  advantage  the  seizure  of  a  temple 
is  a  natural  proceeding,  since  thereby  control  of  the 
god  who  inhabits  it  can  be  obtained.  The  name 
Kuraish  tells  us  nothing  of  the  history  of  the  tribe 
thus  called;  either  it  is  a  totem-name  (meaning 
swordfish),  or  one  arbitrarily  fabricated  from  three 


*  Azraki,  299. 

\  Wellhausen,  Reste,  71. 

\Ibn  Duraid,  172. 


io  Mohammed 

successive  letters  of  the  alphabet*;  and  the  Arab 
genealogists,  who  make  Kuraish  a  person,  forfeit 
thereby  their  claim  to  be  regarded  as  serious  au- 
thorities. Ali,  the  Prophet's  cousin  and  son-in-law, 
declared  that  the  Kuraish  were  Nabataeans  from 
Kutha  in  Mesopotamia ;  which  may  only  have  meant 
that  they  were  descended  from  Abraham  ;  yet  the 
story  that  the  tribal  god  Hubal  came  from  Hit  on 
the  Euphrates,  and  that  Kutha,  f  the  name  of  a 
familiar  town  on  the  Euphrates,  was  also  a  name 
for  Meccah  or  part  of  it,  lends  some  slight  colour  to 
the  statement ;  which  is  somewhat  strengthened  by 
the  commercial  and  political  ability  which  the  tribe 
displayed.  % 

It  is  doubtful  whether  any  actual  history  is  to 
be  got  out  of  the  lengthy  series  of  fables  dignified 
with  the  title  Chronicles  of  Meccah.  A  tribe  called 
Jurhum,  resident  in  historical  times  on  the  Yemen 
coast,  claimed  to  have  been  supreme  at  Meccah  for 
centuries. §  They  were  supposed  to  have  been  dis- 
placed and  forbidden  to  enter  the  precinct  J  by  the 
Khuza'ah,  a  tribe  actually  resident  in  Meccah  at  the 
commencement  of  this  period,  and  so  closely  con- 
nected with  the  Kuraish  that  the  blood  of  the  latter 
was  not  thought  pure  unless  it  had  a  Khuza'ite 
strain.^"  Their  displacement  is  described  in  a  myth 
of  which  the  purpose  appears  to  be  to  show  that  their 

*  Chronicles  of  Meccah,  ii.,  133. 

f  Yakut ;  see  Amedroz's  Hilal,  Index. 

\  Wellhausen,  Reste,  93. 

§  Ibn  Duraid,  253,  gives  a  specimen  of  their  dialect. 

I  Wellhausen,  Reste \  91. 

Tf  fahiz,  Bay  an,  ii.,  16. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  1 1 

conqueror  was  really  one  of  themselves.  Kusayy, 
a  member  of  the  tribe,  whose  mother,  having  mar- 
ried a  man  of  another  tribe,  had  taken  him  to  Syria, 
returned  and  married  the  daughter  of  the  governor 
of  Meccah,  at  whose  death  Kusayy  claimed  the  suc- 
cession. His  claim  being  disputed,  he  appealed  to 
his  relations  by  his  mother's  second  marriage;  after 
some  skirmishing,  an  umpire  being  called  in  recog- 
nised the  claims  of  Kusayy,  who,  however,  made  no 
attempt  to  banish  the  Khuza'ah  from  their  homes. 
The  meaning  of  this  story  is  probably  that  the 
Khuza'ite  settlement  was  earlier  than  the  Kuraish 
settlement,  and  that  the  newcomers,  though  not  an 
unwelcome  accession,  had,  by  showing  greater  ac- 
tivity and  ability  than  the  older  settlers,  secured  the 
dominant  place.  During  Mohammed's  early  life 
there  were  at  times,  however,  open  ruptures  between 
the  Khuza'ah  and  the  Kuraish,*  which  led  to  a 
series  of  fights  and  the  intervention  of  arbiters  f; 
and  in  the  history  of  Islam  before  Meccah  was  taken 
the  Khuza'ah  joined  the  side  of  Mohammed  against 
the  Kuraish.  It  would  appear  that  the  supremacy 
of  the  latter  was  not  to  the  taste  of  the  Khuza'ah, 
though  they  waited  till  fortune  had  declared  itself 
before  they  finally  made  common  cause  with  Mo- 
hammed. Of  all  the  myths  that  seems  to  be  nearest 
history  which  makes  the  head  of  the  Kurashite 
settlement  at  Meccah  one  Hisham,  son  of  Mughirah,J 
of  the   tribe    Makhzum.      Traditions  which    seem 


*  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  495,  17. 
f  Ibn  Duraid,  106. 
X  Ibid.,  94. 


1 2  Mohammed 

valuable  state  that  Hisham  and  Meccah  were  at  one 
time  interchangeable  terms;  and  that  at  Hisham's 
death  the  people  were  summoned  to  the  funeral  of 
their  "lord." 

The  Kuraish  formed  a  group  of  tribes,  supposed, 
according  to  the  ordinary  theory  of  the  ancients,  to 
be  descended  from  the  father  of  the  main  tribe.  The 
names  of  these  clans  will  frequently  meet  us  in  the  se- 
quel,but  the  memory  need  not  be  burdened  with  them 
at  this  point.  They  dwelt  side  by  side  in  groups  of 
habitations  at  Meccah.  The  oldest  guide-book  to 
Meccah,  composed  in  the  third  century  of  Islam,  enu- 
merates thirty-six  such  groups ;  the  nobler  clans  living 
in  the  middle  of  the  valley  while  the  less  noble  dwelt 
on  the  hillside.  Many  of  the  clans  had  attached  to 
them  allies,  corresponding  with  the  Greek  metics, 
persons  who  for  some  reason  —  ordinarily  blood- 
guiltiness,  but  often  poverty — had  left  their  original 
homes  and  come  to  live  at  Meccah  under  foreign 
protection  ;  and  certain  manufactures  were  probably 
in  such  metics*  hands.*  Some  of  the  metics,  how- 
ever, were  of  wealth  and  even  station,  though  a 
metic  could  not  protect  a  native.f  Similar  to  them 
in  status  were  the  clients,  persons  who  had  come  to 
Meccah  as  slaves  and  been  manumitted,  though  by 
the  fiction  of  adoption  such  persons,  as  well  as  other 
clients,  could  become  actual  members  of  their  own- 
er's clans.  X  Finally,  the  slaves  made  up  the  rest  of 
the  population.      Intermarriage  between  the  clans 


*  Cf.  Jacob,  Beduinenleben,  150. 

\  Tabari,  i.,  1203. 

%  Nallino,  Nuova  Antologia,  1893. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  1 3 

was  common  ;  but  for  the  purpose  of  the  blood- 
feud  they,  with  their  respective  clients,  were  dis- 
tinct, though  the  conflicting  theories  of  male  and 
female  kinship  appear  at  times  to  have  produced 
complications. 

For  the  economical  basis  of  the  community  we 
have  some  data  though  little  in  the  way  of  statistics. 
The  possession  of  a  popular  sanctuary  ensured  a 
certain  revenue  from  strangers ;  taking  the  form 
partly  of  a  visitors'  tax,  partly  of  fees  paid  to  the 
worker  of  the  oracle  (said  to  be  100  dirhems  and 
a  camel  for  each  consultation),  and  partly  of  remun- 
eration for  entertainment  and  garments  furnished 
to  visitors ;  for  by  a  lucrative  rule  the  pilgrims 
might  not  use  food  or  clothes  brought  by  them- 
selves. Secondly,  the  sanctity  which  attached  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  temple  rendered  it  a 
suitable  place  for  the  pursuit  of  the  arts  of  peace. 
Htnce  our  authorities  enumerate  a  number  of  trades 
that  were  practised  at  Meccah  :  such  as  those  of 
carpenter,  smith,  sword-maker,  wine-merchant,  oil- 
merchant,  leather-merchant,  tailor,  weaver,  arrow- 
maker,  stationer,  money-lender.*  On  the  goods 
which  were  imported  from  the  Byzantine  Empire, 
partly  for  use  in  those  industries,  the  Meccans  levied 
a  tax  of  ten  per  cent.f  If  a  Bedouin  wished  to  pur- 
chase an  idol  for  his  tent  he  would  come  to  Meccah 
to  procure  it.  %  But  in  the  third  place  the  sacred 
character  which  attached    to    "God's   neighbours" 

*  Jahiz,  Afahasin,  165. 

f  Azraki,  107. 

%  /bid.,  78;    Wakidi  ( JV.\  350. 


1 6  Mohammed 

traditions,  or  on  the  numbers  and  fighting  power  of 
the  clans.  The  Banu  'Amir  Ibn  Luway  could  not 
protect  a  stranger  against  the  Banu  Ka'b  *  ;  the  Banu 
'Adi  Ibn  Ka'b  were  regarded  as  inferior  to  the  Banu 
'Abd  Manaf.  f  "  People  whose  traditions  could  not 
point  to  distinguished  ancestors  were  liable  to  be 
despised,  and  the  contempt  which  they  experienced 
condemned  them  to  humiliating  occupations  which 
degraded  them  still  more."  %  Intermarriage  with  an 
inferior  clan  was  regarded  as  disgraceful.  §  Of  these 
social  distinctions  something  will  be  heard  in  the 
sequel,  where  it  will  appear  that  they  provided  one 
of  the  factors  which  helped,  the  cause  of  Islam. 

That  a  community  which  had  attained  this  degree 
of  pacific  development  could  dispense  with  a  simi- 
larly developed  political  and  judicial  organisation 
seems  remarkable ;  yet  there  would  appear  to  have 
been  little  beyond  the  rudiments  of  either.  ||  Within 
the  clans  and  tribes  there  was  patriarchal  organisa- 
tion of  a  kind.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  sole  will  of 
Abu  Talib  prevented  the  Hashimite  clan  from  giving 
Mohammed  up.  Those  persons  who  disagreed  ap- 
pear, however,  to  have  been  able  to  dissociate  them- 
selves from  their  brethren.  Contributions  were  said 
at  times  to  be  levied  on  the  clans  for  the  covering  of 
the  Ka'bah  1"  and  the  entertainment  of  pilgrims,  and 

*  Tabari,  i.,  1203. 
f  Azraki,  448 
%  Goldziher,  M.  S.,  i.,  40. 
§  IVellhausen,  Eke,  439. 

I  Compare  Wellhausen's  lecture  Ein  Gemeinwesen  ohne  Obrigkeity 
G8ttingen,  1900. 
*{  Azraki,  176. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  1 7 

this,  if  true,  also  implies  some  sort  of  municipal 
organisation.  The  same  is  implied  for  the  state  by 
the  traditions  that  visitors  paid  taxes,  and  that  im- 
ports paid  customs  ;  for  a  budget  requires  a  variety 
of  officials.  The  principle  on  which  the  chief  of  the 
clan  was  appointed  is  unknown.  Ordinarily  some 
wealth  went  with  the  office — for  our  authorities  note 
as  exceptional  the  case  in  which  a  poor  man  was 
chief  *  ;  oratorical  ability,  personal  courage,  and  per- 
sonal dignity  were  essentials,  f  The  chief,  however, 
was  not  necessarily  or  indeed  ordinarily  leader  of  the 
tribe  in  war.  Our  authorities  actually  provide  us 
with  a  list  of  offices  of  state  held  at  Meccah,  and  we 
cannot  doubt  that  the  sanctuary  and  its  ceremonies 
led  to  the  existence  of  certain  officials :  thus  there 
was  a  sacristan  who  kept  the  key  of  the  Ka'bah,  and 
a  priest  who  worked  the  oracle  of  the  god  (Hubal) 
whose  image  was  inside;  and  the  entertaining  of 
the  pilgrims  is  said  to  have  been  the  perquisite  of 
certain  persons.  None  of  these  functions  appear  to 
have  acquired  political  significance.  In  time  of  war, 
as  in  many  communities,  the  fighters  subjected  them- 
selves (in  some  degree)  to  a  leader ;  but  in  time 
of  peace  there  was  little  government.  Some  mat- 
ters indeed  were  settled  at  a  council,  or  comitia,  in 
which  heads  of  tribes,  other  free  citizens,  and  even 
strangers,:]:  it  would  appear,  might  be  heard  ;  yet 
the  theory  of  deciding  by  a  majority  of  votes  was 
certainly  unknown. 

*  Wakidi  ( IV.),  51.     'Utbah,  son  of  Rabi'ah. 
f  Nallino,  Nuova  Antologia,  1893,  Oct.,  p.  618. 
%  Tabari,  i.,  1230. 


1 8  Mohammed 

Where  conflicting  claims  arose  within  the  com- 
munity, they  might  be  settled  (perhaps)  by  an 
appeal  to  the  oracle  of  the  god  Hubal,  whose  minis- 
ter decided  by  the  drawing  of  arrows  ;  or  the  opinion 
of  a  sorceress  might  be  asked.  These  sibyls  indeed 
play  a  rather  important  part  in  the  early  history  of 
Arabia:  combining  the  professions  of  lawyer,  physi- 
cian, and  priest,  they  yet  enjoyed  little  respect.  Or 
the  claim  could  be  submitted  to  some  man  whose 
celebrity  for  justness  or  keenness  gave  him  the  un- 
official position  of  judge  :  some  of  these  persons  are 
even  said  "  to  have  judged  the  judgment  of  Islam  in 
the  days  of  Ignorance."  *  They  were  not,  however, 
necessarily  resident  in  Meccah ;  and  when  there  was 
a  quarrel  between  two  men  in  that  city,  they  might 
even  go  as  far  as  Yemen  to  get  it  settled.f  All 
such  modes  of  obtaining  justice  were  not  only  costly 
and  haphazard,  but,  as  they  were  unofficial,  there 
was  no  certainty  of  the  award  being  executed  ;  and 
if  it  consisted  in  death  or  mutilation,  the  culprit's 
tribe  might  interfere  to  prevent  its  being  carried 
out.J  Probably  then  monetary  penalties  were  more 
commonly  prescribed,  and  indeed  we  hear  of  an 
ancestor  of  the  Prophet  paying  away  a  house  in 
atonement  for  a  blow  § ;  the  chief  business  of  the 
arbiter  would  be  then  to  assess  a  claim  for  damages. 
We  have  no  authority  for  asserting  that  there  was 
in  consequence  much  unpunished  injury  committed 


*  Ibn  Duraid,  234. 

f  Aghani,  viii.,  51. 

\  Ibn  Duraid :  case  of  Abu  Lahab. 

§  Azraki,  452. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  i  c) 

at  Meccah ;  and  a  league  of  which  we  hear — called 
the  league  of  the  Fudul,  meaning  perhaps  a  number 
of  persons  named  Fadl — instituted  during  Moham- 
med's youth,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  injuries, 
was  chiefly  directed  against  those  inflicted  on  stran- 
gers visiting  Meccah.  From  the  history  of  Moham- 
med we  should  infer  that  the  fear  of  civil  strife  and 
its  consequences  led  to  an  extraordinary  amount  of 
mutual  forbearance. 

Between  Hubal,  the  god  whose  image  was  inside 
the  Ka'bah,  and  Allah  ("  the  God  "),  of  whom  much 
will  be  heard,  there  was  perhaps  some  connection  ;  yet 
the  identification  of  the  two  suggested*  by  Wellhau- 
sen  is  not  yet  more  than  an  hypothesis.  It  seems  pos- 
sible that  Allah,  really  a  male  deity,  of  which  Al-Lat 
was  the  female,  f  identified  by  Mohammed  with  the 
object  of  monotheistic  adoration,  was  the  tribal  god 
of  the  Kuraish  ;  and  indeed  in  lines  which  may  possi- 
bly be  pre-Islamic  the  Kuraish  are  called  Allah's  fam- 
ily.J  At  the  ceremonies  of  Muzdalifah  the  Kuraish 
and  their  co-religionists  used  to  say,  "We  are  the  fam- 
ily of  Allah  "§;  and  by  this  name  they  were  known 
in  Arabia.||  Something  of  this  sort  is  also  assumed 
in  the  polemic  of  the  Koran.  T  According  to 
ancient  custom  the  Kuraish,  when  they  became 
supreme,  gave  their  deity  a  place  beside  the  deities 
of  the  older  tribes,  such  as  Al-'Uzza,  Al-Lat,  Manat, 

*  And  hesitatingly  approved  by  Noldeke,  Z.  D.  At.  <?.,  xli.,  715. 

f  Wakidi{W.\  362. 

\Ibn  Duraid,  94  ;  Z.  D.  At.  G.t  xviii.,  226. 

§  Tirmidhi,  i.,  167. 

\Azraki,  98,  155. 

If  Chapter  v.,  ultra. 


20  Mohammed 

and  others ;  a  process  described  in  the  Koran  by  the 
commercial  term  "  associating  "  or  u  taking  into  part- 
nership," which  probably  had  no  underlying  theo- 
logical speculation.  That  association  did  not  lead 
to  a  distinction  of  functions  between  different  gods 
and  goddesses,*  which  was  only  found  in  Arabia  by 
those  who  had  been  schooled  in  the  theology  of 
Egypt  or  Greece.  In  Arabia  each  tribe  had  its  god 
or  patron,  from  whom  it  expected  everything,  and 
where  tribes  were  confederate  the  relation  between 
the  gods  was  a  friendly  one,  whence  a  man  might  call 
different  sons  after  different  gods ;  as  indeed  was 
done  by  Mohammed's  grandfather.  It  is  possible,  in 
some  cases  probable,  that  these  gods  or  some  of  them 
had  been  in  earlier  stages  of  Arabic  development  im- 
personations of  some  moral  or  physical  quality,  or  be- 
longed to  a  system  of  astronomical  theology  f;  but 
such  associations  had  long  since  vanished,  just  as  the 
ordinary  worshippers  of  Zeus  or  Jupiter  were  un- 
aware that  his  name  meant  the  sky.  The  number  of 
the  gods  who  had  a  place  near  the  Ka'bah  would  seem 
to  have  been  very  large  and  some  of  these  were  also 
identified  with  trees  or  stones  in  the  neighbourhood, 
which  pious  persons  visited,  bringing  offerings.  Of 
the  same  and  perhaps  of  others  there  were  also 
household  representations,  which  received  homage 
in  domestic  rites.     Their  number  is  to  be  accounted 


*  "Auf  keinen  Fall  diirfte  man  es  versuchen  die  arabischen  Gotter 
durch  eine  formliche  Mythologie  zu  verknupfen."  Noldeke,  Z.  D. 
M.  G.,  xli.,  714, 

f  An  Egyptian  writer  has  recently  endeavoured  to  take  them  all  to 
Egypt. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  2 1 

for  in  part  by  the  practice  of  exogamy  or  obtaining 
wives  outside  the  husband's  tribe,  whose  gods  would 
often  accompany  them  ;  in  part  by  the  trading  of  the 
Meccans,  who  had  opportunities  of  learning  of  the 
existence  and  power  of  foreign  deities. 

Paganism  is  called  by  the  Koran  the  period  of 
Ignorance — a  phrase  in  the  opinion  of  some  borrowed 
from  the  New  Testament  * ;  in  the  Koran  it  is  thus 
explained  :  the  Meccans  had,  we  are  assured,  no 
previous  revelation  ;  no  Prophet,  no  books,  no  guid- 
ance, f  The  only  reason  which  they  could  assign  for 
the  rites  they  practised  was  that  their  fathers  had 
done  the  same. 

It  seems  likely  that  this  account  is  near  the  truth. 
We  should  miss  much  in  the  origin  of  Islam  if  we 
failed  to  keep  before  our  minds  its  claim  to  be  a  first 
instruction  to  the  people  whom  it  addressed.  Against 
any  previous  code,  therefore,  the  Koran  does  not 
argue,  just  as  it  does  not  lean  upon  any  such  back- 
ground. It  is  true  the  Moslems  suppose  that  the 
Arabs  had  been  originally  bound  by  the  code  of 
Abraham  and  Ishmael,  and  that  to  certain  Arab 
races  other  prophets  had  been  sent.  But  this  was 
only  assumed  in  order  to  prove  fetish  worship  and 
the  practices  of  the  pagans  to  be  innovations;  and 
the  Arabs  could  even  name  the  miscreant  who  was 
responsible  for  their  introduction. 

The  Koran  makes  indeed  an  exception  when  it 
denies  that  the  Arabs  had  any  previous  guide.    It  is 


*Wellhausen,  Restey  71.    Wrongly  according  to  Goldziher,  M.  S., 
i.,  225,  who  renders  it  "  Barbarianism." 
f  Surah  xxxiv.,  43,  xxxvi.,  5. 


22  Mohammed 

recorded*  that  some  of  those  who  enquired  about 
Islam  declared  that  they  had  before  been  in  pos- 
session of  the  Book  of  Lukman,  and  the  Koran  once 
reproduces  a  certain  number  of  maxims  addressed 
by  Lukman  to  his  son.  Many  more  such  maxims 
are  quoted  by  Moslem  writers,  but  unfortunately 
we  have  rarely  any  good  reason  for  believing 
them  to  be  handed  down  from  very  early  time. 
The  Koran  clearly  supposes  Lukman  to  have 
been  a  monotheist,  and  the  sayings  ascribed  to 
him  are  ordinarily  in  the  style  of  the  Biblical 
Proverbs — containing  a  mixture  of  religious,  moral, 
and  worldly  counsels.  Some  of  his  precepts 
may  have  been  employed  in  instructing  the  Arab 
youth  ;  and  he  was  ordinarily  supposed  to  have  been 
an  Arab,  though  some  legends  f  make  him  out  to 
have  been  a  black.  But  of  any  reverend  and 
beloved  name  being  made  responsible  for  pagan 
practice  we  do  not  hear.  Against  the  Prophet 
Mohammed  the  general  practice  of  a  series  of  gen- 
erations was  quoted,  but  not  apparently  any  author- 
itative code. 

Where  these  practices  are  described — and  many  of 
them  had  been  forgotten  by  the  time  when  the  Mos- 
lems came  to  study  them  with  some  sort  of  sym- 
pathy— they  continually  admit  of  easy  illustration 
from,  if  not  of  identification  with,  the  practices  of 
other  pagan  races.  To  the  religious  institutions 
(such  as  prayer,  vows,  sacrifices)  which  the  Arabs 
shared  with  the  nations   of  classical  antiquity  we 


*Tabari,  i.,  1207. 
f  Jahiz,  Opuscula,  58. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  23 

need  do  no  more  than  allude.  That  there  should  be 
many  rites  of  a  superstitious  nature  connected  with 
the  camel  is  natural,  considering  the  importance 
which  attached  to  that  animal  in  the  life  of  the  Arab. 
Of  the  practice  of  Tabu,  so  richly  illustrated  in  Mr. 
Manning's  Old  New  Zealand,  the  customs  of  Central 
Arabia  contain  many  examples.  Of  ancestor  wor- 
ship,* sacrifices  to  the  dead,f  human  sacrifices,^:  and 
even  cannibalism  traces  have  been  preserved.  Cases 
occur  in  the  biography  of  the  Prophet  of  women 
biting  the  liver  or  drinking  out  of  the  skull  of  a  fallen 
foe.  Rich  illustration  is  also  provided  of  the  sanctu- 
ary or  domain  controlled  by  a  god  whose  force  per- 
meates it  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  an  electric 
current ;  a  doctrine  so  lucidly  explained  in  Frazer's 
Golden  Bough.  A  mythology  of  a  naive  sort  was 
taught  by  nurses  to  children,  a  few  details  of  which 
crop  up  from  time  to  time.  The  soul  was  thought 
at  death  to  take  the  form  of  a  bird.§  The  sun  was 
supposed  at  eventide  to  sink  into  a  well. 

Although  the  practices  of  paganism  were  exceed- 
ingly numerous  and  complicated,  it  does  not  appear 
that  there  was  any  systematic  knowledge  of  them ; 
old  men  could  state,  so  far  as  their  memory 
served  them,  what  had  been  the  invariable  custom, 
but  it  is  unlikely  that  any  one  had  been  taught  to  ob- 
serve or  to  make  collections  of  cases ;  and  it  is  only 


+Goldziher,  M.S.,  i.,  230. 
f  Ibid.,  239. 

\Wellhausen,  Reste,  1 15. 

§  In  Globus,  1901,  358,  etc  ,    parallels  to  this  superstition  are 
collected. 


24  Mohammed 

where  this  is  done  that  any  system  can  come  into 
being.  We  must  not  therefore  make  the  mistake  of 
supposing  that  there  were  definite  notions  and  fixed 
rules,  where  at  best  there  may  have  been  a  vague 
tendency  towards  uniformity. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  some  authors  that  the  in- 
sufficiency of  paganism  as  a  satisfaction  of  the  re- 
ligious need  was  felt  at  Meccah,  and  that  the  whole 
of  the  Arabs  were  ready  for  something  better.  If 
this  be  interpreted  as  meaning  that  paganism  was 
becoming  unfashionable,  it  is  correct ;  devout  be- 
lievers in  Al-Lat  and  Al-'Uzza  were  thought  by  those 
who  had  been  in  the  great  world  to  be  behind  the 
times.  Practices  which  savoured  of  savagery  were 
already  condemned  by  the  common  sense  of  in- 
fluential men ;  and  those  who,  having  travelled, 
learned  that  paganism  was  despised  and  ridiculed  in^ 
the  Roman  Empire  and  in  Persia,  often  thought 
it  proper  to  despise  and  ridicule  it  themselves.  But 
that  the  fetishism  of  the  Arabs  was  otherwise  insuf- 
ficient for  their  religious  needs  is  an  assertion  which 
does  not  admit  of  proof.  A  god  is  an  imaginary 
being  who  can  do  good  or  harm  ;  and  everything 
goes  to  show  that  the  Arabs  who  had  not  seen  the 
great  world  were  firmly  convinced  that  their  gods 
or  goddesses  could  do  both.  Hence  the  images 
of  the  gods  provided  sanctuary  for  persons  whose 
lives  were  forfeit,  and  this  sanctuary  was  respected 
by  all  save  the  enlightened.*  Of  the  real  philan- 
thropists and  reformers  among  them,  men  who 
squandered  their  substance  in  saving  the   lives  of 

*Ibn  Duraid,  235. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  25 

girls  doomed  to  death*  or  in  releasing  prisoners,f  or 
who  kept  their  word  at  any  cost,  some  were  faithful 
adherents  of  the  cults  of  Al-'Uzza  and  Al-Lat.  Oc- 
cupied with  the  reform  of  their  own  lives  and  the 
righting  of  actual  wrongs,  these  persons  made  no 
noise,  and  being  earnest,  did  not  suppose  that  the 
setting  up  of  one  cult  for  another  would  make  men 
virtuous;  and  Mohammed  himself  had  occasion  to 
draw  a  contrast  between  the  conduct  of  his  pagan 
and  that  of  his  believing  son-in-law,  greatly  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  the  latter.  So  far  as  the  religious 
sentiment  required  gratification,  there  is  no  evidence 
to  show  that  paganism  failed  to  gratify  it.  We 
gather  from  the  inscriptions  of  the  pagan  Arabs 
that  a  wealth  of  affection  and  gratitude  was  be- 
stowed upon  their  gods  and  patrons.  Few  indeed 
were  prepared  to  die  for  their  deities,  when  told  to 
reject  them  or  be  executed.  But  then  with  sound 
though  rare  logic  they  inferred  from  their  reduction 
to  this  strait  that  their  gods  were  impotent  and  had 
been  vainly  worshipped. 

A  great  scholar,  indeed,  from  whom  it  is  un- 
safe to  differ,  finds  a  difference  between  the  central 
and  the  southern  Arabians,  and  supposes  the  latter 
to  have  been  earnest  worshippers,  while  the  former 
were  indifferent.  The  ground  for  this  assertion 
appears  to  lie  in  the  absence  of  religious  inscriptions 
from  Central  Arabia ;  but  there  is  no  saying  when 


*  This  act  is  also  ascribed  to  the  monotheist,  Zaid,  son  of  'Amr. 
Ibn  Sa\i%  iii.,  277. 

f  Ibn  Duraid,  193  :  Sa'd,  son  of  Mushammit,  vowed  that  he  would 
never  see  a  prisoner  but  he  would  release  him. 


26  Mohammed 

this  gap  in  our  knowledge  may  be  filled  up,  and 
little  can  be  inferred  on  such  matters  from  negative 
evidence.  The  fact,  moreover,  that  several  of  the 
chief  objects  of  worship  were  goddesses  suggests 
that  the  Arabs  of  Central  Arabia  were  not  wanting 
in  piety,  since  the  cult  of  goddesses  all  over  the 
world  appears  to  be  conducted  with  special  fervour, 
and  calls  into  play  sentiments  which  a  male  cult 
is  not  capable  of  exciting.  Doubtless  too  the  iden- 
tification of  these  objects  varied  very  much  with  the 
mental  capacity  of  different  worshippers ;  to  some 
they  may  have  been  stars,  or  fetishes,  or  sentiments, 
but  to  the  greater  number  they  were  women,  not  in- 
deed often  to  be  seen,  but  neither  quite  invisible 
nor  far  off,  who  were  more  powerful  certainly  than 
the  women  of  the  tribe,  but  resembling  them  in 
character  and  disposition. 

With  regard  to  morals,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
Arabs  possessed  the  notions  of  right  and  wrong,  but 
the  denotation  assigned  to  these  notions  was  ordin- 
arily very  different  from  what  we  expect  in  civilised 
countries.  Mr.  Beckwourth  tells  us  how  when  he 
lived  with  the  Blackfeet,  he  one  day  struck  down 
his  wife  for  disobeying  him ;  her  supposed  death, 
however,  occasioned  no  resentment  on  the  part 
of  her  father,  who  gave  her  husband  his  second 
daughter  as  a  substitute  the  selfsame  evening ;  and 
when  the  husband  discovered  that  the  former  wife 
had  been  merely  stunned,  not  killed,  the  situation 
was  in  no  way  complicated  thereby.  How  many 
violations  of  European  morality  he  committed  thus 
within  twenty-four  hours  it  would  not  be  easy  to 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  2  7 

count.  In  a  civilised  state  he  would  have  been 
arrested  for  murder,  and  imprisoned  for  bigamy; 
tabooed  on  half  a  dozen  grounds  and  ousted  from 
decent  society.  Among  the  Blackfeet  his  con- 
duct was  normal  and  praiseworthy,  nor  was  his 
father-in-law's  conduct — to  us  heartless  and  indecent 
in  the  extreme — improper.  Similarly  with  the 
people  of  the  Ignorance  a  moral  stigma  attached  to 
certain  states  and  certain  acts;  but  not  always  to 
those  states  and  acts  which  the  experience  of  ages 
of  civilisation  has  shown  to  be  deleterious  to  the 
community,  and  which  members  of  organised  states 
taboo.  To  the  taking  of  human  life  it  is  clear  that  no 
moral  guilt  was  thought  to  attach  ;  and  between  ac- 
cidental homicide  and  intentional  murder  the  Arabs 
seem  to  have  been  quite  unable  to  distinguish ; 
when  some  men,  building  up  a  lion  pit,  accidentally 
pushed,*  or  pulled, f  each  other  in  and  were  killed 
by  the  lion,  their  relatives  could  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  be  prevented  from  avenging  the  deaths; 
and  of  the  right  to  blood-money  there  was  no  ques- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  not  to  avenge  a  murder 
was  disgraceful.  The  taking  of  blood-money  by  the 
relatives  was  thought  degrading,  but  not  because  it 
implied  heartlessness  or  sordidness :  rather  because 
it  suggested  weakness  and  fear.  Only  when  the 
steady  accumulation  of  wealth  began  to  be  found 
attractive,  and  peace  was  seen  to  be  a  necessary 
condition  of  this,  did  the  presence  in  the  tribe  of  a 
swashbuckler  prove  inconvenient.     Such   a  person 


*  Afusnad,  i.,  77. 
f  Ibid. ,  i,  128 


28  Mohammed 

therefore  was  apt  to  be  publicly  discarded.  But  if 
he  remained  in  the  tribe,  murders  committed  by  him 
were  likely  to  involve  the  tribe  in  war,  since  the 
blood-feud  demanded  the  death  of  any  of  the  mur- 
derer's tribesmen,  and  to  hand  over  a  murderer  to 
the  vengeance  of  the  heirs  of  the  murdered  man  was 
thought  in  the  highest  degree  dishonourable. 

In  another  matter  which  civilisation  has  hedged 
in  with  a  variety  of  rules  and  ordinances,  Central 
Arabia  exhibits  the  simultaneous  existence  of  many 
stages  of  development.  The  institution  of  marriage 
in  our  sense  had  certainly  existed  for  untold  centu- 
ries; of  polyandry  in  its  various  forms  only  faint 
traces  survived  ;  even  in  a  rather  backward  commun- 
ity like  that  of  Medinah,  a  girl  in  order  to  be  mar- 
riageable required  a  dowry — in  our  sense  of  the 
word  * ;  and  there  is  evidence  that  concubinage  was 
in  some  tribes  considered  improper,  f  The  question 
whether  the  wife  should  enter  the  husband's  tribe  or 
the  husband  enter  the  wife's  was  settled  by  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case ;  in  normal  cases  the  former 
took  place.  Still  the  social  condition  described  by 
Beckwourth  appears  to  have  existed  in  certain  of  the 
Arab  tribes.  Those  men  who  did  most  for  the  com- 
munity married  many  women  ;  but  it  would  rather 
appear  that  the  dissolution  of  a  marriage  was  the 
right  of  the  woman,  not  of  the  man.  It  does  not 
appear  that  dishonour  everywhere  attached  to  un- 
chastity  in  women,  though  ideas  on  this  subject 
varied  very  much  in  different  tribes.     In  some  the 

*  Ibn  Sa'dff.,  ii.,  78. 

f  Z.  D.  M.  G. ,  xlvi. ,  2  ;    Wellhausen,  Ehe,  440. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  29 

birth  of  a  daughter  was  the  occasion  for  special 
felicitation,*  containing  an  allusion  to  the  dowry  or 
purchase-money  she  would  bring  her  parents;  on 
the  other  hand  the  Koran  asserts  that  the  birth  of  a 
daughter  was  regarded  as  a  misfortune,  and  that  the 
practice  of  burying  girls  alive  was  common,  and  such 
occurrences  are  attested  for  the  period  with  which 
Mohammed's  early  life  coincided.!  That  practice 
cannot  be  altogether  dissociated  from  fears  concern- 
ing female  frailty,  and  even  in  the  most  civilised 
period  of  the  Caliphate  we  find  the  death  of  a  daugh- 
ter in  childhood  regarded  as  a  subject  for  congratu- 
lation, the  father  being  thereby  saved  from  a  possible 
source  of  danger  to  his  honour.  "  Were  it  not," 
says  the  author  of  a  letter  of  condolence  on  such  an 
occasion,  "  for  my  knowledge  of  your  late  daughter's 
rare  virtues,  I  should  be  more  inclined  to  congratu- 
late you  than  to  condole  with  you,  since  the  hiding 
of  one's  weak  points  is  an  advantage,  and  the  burial 
of  a  daughter  is  a  desirable  thing."  %  With  an  allu- 
sion to  the  same  notion,  poets  praising  women  speak 
of  them  as  having  been  buried  before  death  in  the 
secrecy  of  the  harem,  or  at  death  being  transferred 
from  one  harem  to  another.  A  still  older  theory, 
however,  is  that  the  father  is  in  any  case  disgraced 
by  giving  his  flesh  and  blood  into  another  man's 
power.  ||  Where  infanticide  was  not  practised,  fear 
of  dishonour  (or  perhaps  a  religious  scruple)  led  to 


*  Hariri,  Sch.,  334. 

f  Musnad,  i.,  398.     For  this  subject,  see  Wellhausen%  Ehe,  458. 

%  Letters  of  Khwarizmi  (Const.),  20. 

I  Wellhausen,  Efie,  433. 


30  Mohammed 

child  marriage,  seven  or  eight  being  the  normal  age 
at  which  girls  became  wives.  * 

^The  general  freedom  of  pagan  days,  and  the  varie- 
ties of  the  practice  of  different  tribes,  permitted  of 
much  abnormal  development.  Sensuality  and  un- 
chastity  were  normal ;  but  in  some  tribes  the  erotic 
sentiment  took  a  sublime  and  romantic  form,  and 
many  a  legend  tells  of  the  ennobling  of  the  passion 
into  fastidious  chivalry  and  refinement.  Deprived 
by  custom  of  the  right  of  inheriting,f  women  not 
unfrequently  accumulated  and  disposed  of  wealth; 
as  poetesses  they  could  fan  the  embers  of  feuds  into 
flame,  and  as  prophetesses  direct  the  movements  of 
their  tribes.  Following  the  men  into  the  battle-field, 
they  could  encourage  the  fighters  by  savage  music, 
or  could  themselves  (like  Beckwourth's  "Pine  Leaf") 
deal  wounds  and  death ;  or,  more  often,  strip  and 
mutilate  the  slain.  The  institutions  (if  that  term 
may  be  used)  of  paganism  were  not  unfavourable  to 
the  prominence  of  those  women  who  had  the  requi- 
site gifts  of  courage  or  insight.  And  the  ensuing 
narrative  will  show  examples  of  women  acting  with 
originality  and  resolution,  when  there  was  room  for 
the  display  of  those  qualities. 

Of  respect  for  property  and  loyalty  and  honour, 
pagan  Arabia  shows  no  exalted  standard.  The  in- 
stitution of  private  property  would  appear  to  have 
existed,  and  indeed  to  have  been  fairly  developed  at 
Meccah,  in  spite  of  its  apparent  contradiction  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  blood-feud.     Thus  the  Meccan  heads 


*  A  lif-Bd,  i. ,  394. 

\  Perron,  Femmes  Arabes  avant  el  depuis  V 'fslamisme,  1858. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  3 1 

of  houses  are  represented  as  forming  a  joint-stock 
company  for  the  purpose  of  foreign  trade,  the  profits 
on  each  occasion  being  divided  proportionately 
among  the  investors,  and  by  them  expended  or 
hoarded,  or  invested  in  fresh  speculations.  Sales  of 
various  sorts  between  individuals  are  recorded  for 
the  period  before  the  taking  of  Meccah.  Probably, 
therefore,  this  community  was  somewhat  further 
advanced  in  commercial  civilisation  than  the  Crows 
or  Blackfeet  of  Beckwourth's  time. 

The  course  of  the  following  narrative  will  show 
that  Mohammed's  mission  at  Meccah  was  a  failure, 
and  that  it  was  only  at  Medinah,  which  had  been  suf- 
fering for  years  from  the  curse  of  civil  war,  that  he 
readily  found  a  hearing,  and  that  having  turned 
Medinah  into  an  armed  camp,  he  was  able  partly  by 
force  and  partly  by  bribes  to  subjugate  Meccah, 
whence  he  proceeded  quickly  to  subdue  the  rest  of 
Arabia.  The  conquest  of  Arabia  speedily  led  to 
that  of  the  surrounding  nations.  From  this  we 
may  draw  with  regard  to  Meccah  certain  inferences 
which  correspond  very  well  with  the  historical  tradi- 
tion. It  had  clearly  acquired  at  the  time  when 
Mohammed  arose  a  position  of  importance  in  Arabia, 
since  its  example  was  so  speedily  followed,  and  in- 
deed many  an  Arabian  state  seems  to  have  waited 
to  submit  to  the  Prophet  till  Meccah  had  submitted. 
That  importance  was  not  due  to  military  strength,  but 
either  to  the  respect  felt  for  the  deities  of  the  Mec- 
can  temple,  or  to  the  intellectual  and  political  super- 
iority of  its  inhabitants ;  an  early  writer  perhaps 
with  justice  attributes  it  to  the  miraculous  repulse 


3  2  Mohammed 

of  the  Abyssinian  invasion,  which  impressed  the 
Arabs  with  the  idea  that  the  Meccans  were  the 
favoured  of  heaven  *;  Wellhausen  on  the  other  hand 
ascribes  it  mainly  to  the  ability  of  the  Kuraish,  "  who 
understood  better  than  others  how  to  draw  water 
out  of  their  own  well,  and  make  their  neighbours' 
water  flow  in  their  channels."  f 

Meccah  then  was  in  a  sufficiently  healthy  condi- 
tion to  be  able  to  throw  off  without  serious  trouble 
such  a  civil  disease  as  is  represented  by  a  secret 
society,  aiming  at  reconstruction  of  the  social  fabric. 
But  outside  Meccah  there  was  much  instability,  and 
much  opportunity  for  the  intervention  of  a  strong 
will.  The  title  of  king  was  maintained  by  a  few 
heads  of  tribes,  %  an<3  certain  other  historic  appella- 
tions were  not  yet  extinct  among  the  populations  of 
the  south  and  centre  of  the  peninsula;  but  these 
chieftains  resembled  the  feudal  barons,  whose  author- 
ity reached  but  a  little  way  beyond  the  fortresses 
whence  they  could  conduct  their  raids,  and  was  of 
no  avail  for  the  protection  of  life  or  property. 

These  neighbours  of  the  Meccans  still  lived  the 
nomad  life — a  life  in  which  the  raiding  of  camels 
was  the  only  manly  occupation,  and  in  which  the 
blood-feud  was  the  most  important  of  existing  insti- 
tutions. That  Bedouin  institution  was  still  retained 
by  the  Meccans,  though  they  had  abandoned  the 
nomad  state  ;  blood  shed  by  another  tribe  demanded 
vengeance,  and  therefore  some  trivial  cause  was  likely 


*  Azraki,  98. 

\Reste,  93. 

\  Kindah  ;  also  in  Hajar,  and  Oman. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  33 

at  any  moment  to  involve  the  state  in  war,  or  cause 
the  constituent  groups  to  be  arrayed  against  each 
other.  War  meant  such  an  upsetting  of  arrange- 
ments that  we  find  the  Meccan  magnates  dominated 
by  the  desire  for  peace. 

The  wealth  which  some  of  the  community  had 
acquired  made  them  sufficiently  important  to  be 
honoured  with  appeals  from  various  disputants:  in 
such  cases  we  find  it  the  policy  of  the  arbiters  to  do 
anything  rather  than  make  a  pronouncement  which 
is  at  all  likely  to  produce  a  broil.  A  legend  which 
may  have  a  basis  of  truth  makes  Abu  Sufyan,  of 
whom  much  will  be  heard,  appointed  arbiter  by  per- 
sons who  were  disputing  over  the  claims  of  their 
respective  clans.  To  favour  either  would  have  prob- 
ably involved  both  the  favoured  party  and  the  arbi- 
ter in  a  dispute*:  Abu  Sufyan  therefore  refused  to 
say  more  than  that  they  were  like  the  "  Knees  of  a 
camel "  and  declined  to  state  which  was  the  right 
knee.  The  other  Kurashite  leaders  were  no  less 
cautious ;  and  resorted  to  great  sacrifices  to  stifle 
disputes  at  their  commencement. 

For  the  north  and  east  two  Christian  or  partly 
Christian  outposts  were  formed  by  the  Ghassanide 
kingdom  which  held  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  and  was  de- 
pendent on  Byzantium,  and  the  kingdom  of  Hirah 
which  held  the  approaches  to  Mesopotamia  and  was 
dependent  on  Persia. 

In  both  cases  civilised  powers  employed  Arabs  to 
keep  Arabs  in  order  f :  the  purpose  of  these  Arab 

*Agh.,  xv.,  54. 
f  Rothstein,  Lakhmiden,  127. 
3  ^ 


34  Mohammed 

kingdoms  being  to  "form  bulwarks  against  the  raid- 
ing  Bedouins.  But  the  dynasty  of  Hirah  was  abol- 
ished about  602  A.D.  by  the  Persian  suzerain — for  a 
variety  of  reasons :  and  a  few  years  after  at  Dhu 
Kar  the  Bedouins  had  an  earnest  of  their  future 
conquest  of  the  empire  of  the  Khosroes. 

It  appears  that  some  goods  had  been  entrusted  to 
a  certain  Arab  tribe  by  Nu  'man,  son  of  Mundhir, 
King  of  Hirah,  shortly  before  his  deposition,  and  that 
the  new  viceroy  had  demanded  that  these,  consist- 
ing chiefly  in  weapons  and  armour,  together  with 
hostages,  should  be  given  up.  A  chieftain  of  the 
Banu  'Ijl,  Hanzalah,  son  of  Tha  'labah,  was  brought 
to  the  front  by  this  demand,  which  was  backed  with 
the  terrible  force  of  the  Persian  empire.  He  re- 
solved to  resist  it:  the  arms  instead  of  being  handed 
over  to  the  Persians  were  distributed  among  men 
capable  of  bearing  them  ;  and  plans  were  devised 
by  which  the  organisation  of  the  Persians  and  their 
skill  as  bowmen  should  be  rendered  unavailing.  The 
Persian  forces  were  lured  into  a  place  where  there 
was  no  water,  and  the  soldiers  were  speedily  incapaci- 
tated by  thirst ;  an  ambush  was  prepared  whence  a 
body  of  Bedouins  could  emerge  at  a  critical  moment 
in  the  fray;  and  finally  the  Arab  allies  of  the 
Persians  were  induced  to  leave  the  field  when  the 
battle  had  begun,  and  drag  the  rest  of  the  army 
into  rout.  The  battle  of  Dhu  Kar,  so  called  from 
the  spring  near  which  it  was  fought,  exposed  the 
Sawad  or  fertile  land  watered  by  the  Euphrates  to 
the  incursions  of  the  Bakr  Ibn  Wa'il  and  other  Arab 
raiders :  but  it  also  shook  the  belief  in  the  power  of 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  35 

Persia,  which  had  long  been  an  article  of  faith  in 
Arabia. 

In  Golan,  in  Palaestina  Secunda,  reigned  the 
Ghassanidae  of  the  house  of  Jafnah,  whose  rule  at 
one  time  embraced  the  land  of  Hermon  to  the  Gulf 
of  Akabah  ;  and  who  indeed  were  responsible  for 
all  nomads  "permanently  or  temporarily  settled  in 
Palaestina  II.,  Arabia,  Phoenicia  ad  Libanum,  prob- 
ably also  Palaestina  III.,  and  perhaps  even  in  the 
provinces  of  N.  Syria."  *  About  583  the  dynasty 
had  for  a  time  been  suspended,  owing  to  disputes 
with  the  Byzantine  suzerains,  who,  however,  appear 
to  have  restored  it  again,  till  it  was  overthrown  in 
613  or  614  by  the  Persian  invaders,  after  which  it  is 
uncertain  whether  it  was  restored. 

In  other  Southand  North  Arabian  states  the  religion 
of  the  world-power  had  penetrated,  and  certain  tribes 
were  wholly  or  partly  Christian. f  But  it  was  seed 
sown  on  stony  ground,  whose  product  had  no  power 
of  resistance  when  the  heat  came :  it  perished  with- 
out leaving  a  trace,  when  Islam  appeared.  A  strange 
fact :  these  Christian  Arabs  had  bishops  and  priests 
and  churches,  and  even  heresies  of  their  own;  yet 
we  cannot  to  this  day  make  out  from  our  authorities 
whether  the  Christian  Scriptures  were  ever  rendered 
into  the  vernacular  of  those  converts,  or  whether  only 
the  priests  had  religious  books,  and  these  in  a 
larguage  which  they  must  go  abroad  to  learn.     The 

*  Ndldeke,  Die  G  has  s  anise  hen  FUrsten  aus  dent  Hause  Gafna's, 
Berlin.  1887,  from  whom  the  statements  in  the  paragraph  are  taken. 

f  There  were  churches  in  the  Farsan  islands,  Sprenger,  Alte  Geog- 
raphic Arabiens,  254. 


36  Mohammed 

last  is  most  likely  to  have  been  the  case,  and  to  have 
been  one  of  the  causes  of  the  unresisting  collapse 
of  Arabian  Christianity.  Even  before  Mohammed's 
time  it  had  given  way  in  South  Arabia  to  Judaism, 
some  Sabaean  king  having  been  won  over  by  the 
Jews  of  Yathrib,  and  for  once  men  of  the  Jewish 
persuasion  had  possessed  the  courage  to  fight  and 
even  to  die.  A  conquering  state,  governed  by  the 
law  of  Moses!  That  Jewish  state  was  indeed  of 
short  duration.  Like  other  religious  communities 
which  preach  toleration  when  oppressed,  they  became 
persecutors  when  they  had  acquired  sovereignty: 
and  for  once  *  an  inquisition  arose  in  which  Jews 
piled  fagots  and  lit  fires,  and  Christians  were  burned. 
Those  pyres  gleam  out  as  a  ray  of  light  in  the  dark- 
ness of  Arabian  history  before  Islam :  the  Syriac 
letter  in  which  the  story  of  the  Najran  martyrs  is 
told  is  like  a  fragment  of  a  pre-Islamic  Chronicle.f 
The  persecution  was  an  act  of  folly,  no  less  than  of 
cruelty  ;  the  Jews  had  indeed  much  to  avenge,  but  to 
remain  unavenged  had  been  safer.  The  news  spread 
that  the  Church  was  in  danger:  from  Christian 
Abyssinia  a  force  was  sent  to  aid  the  persecuted  fol- 
lowers of  the  Gospel :  defeated  by  some  accident  the 
Jewish  king  died  a  hero's  death.  But  the  Abys- 
sinians  had  not  conquered  for  the  Najranites,  but 
for  themselves.  Kings  of  their  own  were  set  up  in 
South  Arabia,  who  oppressed  the   Arabs,   and  set 


*A.  D.  523.  Fell'va.  Z.  D.  M.  6\,  xxxv.,  74.  Noldeke,  Sasani- 
den,  186,  n. 

f  Mordtmann,  Z.  D.  M.  G.  xxxv.,  700,  regards  it  as  spurious: 
Noldeke  and  the  majority  as  genuine. 


COIN,  WITH  ABYSSINIAN    KING  APHIDAS  ON   OBVERSE,  AND   ON   REVERSE 

THE  LAST  JEWISH  KING  OF  YEMEN,  DHU  NUWAS  OR  DIMEAN. 

From  Ruppell,  Reise  in  Abessinien%  t.  viii.,  pi.  vi.;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  344  and  429. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  37 


themselves  to  spread  Christianity  with  the  sword. 
The  year  in  which  the  Prophet  was  ordinarily  sup- 
posed to  have  been  born,*  long  known  as  the  year 
the  Elephant,  the  South  Arabian  ruler,  provoked  in- 
deed by  insults  offered  to  his  own  sanctuary,  is  said 
to.  have  sent  an  army  to  destroy  the  sanctuary  at 
Meccah  ;  but  the  legend  says  he  failed,  some  disaster 
attacking  his  force  similar  to  that  which  befell  Sen- 
nacherib of  old  :  for  occasionally  the  gods  defend 
their  temples.  After  his  return  to  San  'a,  still  the 
capital  of  Yemen,  Arab  discontent  found  a  leader 
in  Saif,  son  of  Dhu  Yazan ;  who  importuned  the 
Persian  court  till  at  last  help  was  given  against  the 
Abyssinian  usurpers ;  whom  he  drove  out,  substitut- 
ing vassalage  to  Persia  for  the  other.  The  films  of 
Judaism  and  Christianity  torn  off  the  face  of  South 
Arabia,  paganism  it  seems  was  restored  :  not  indeed  at 
Najran,  where  Christianity  remained,  as  in  an  island  ; 
but  the  rulers  were  pagans,  and  in  league  with  the 
worst  enemy  of  the  Cross.  Meanwhile  the  matters 
about  which  the  sects  were  at  variance  were  evoking 
interest  in  minds  that  had  been  alien  from  them. 

The  introduction  of  both  the  Christian  and  Jewish 
religions  was  attended  at  times  perhaps  with 
spread  of  certain  virtues.  Fidelity  was  regarded 
the  result  of  both  Judaism  and  Christianity :  the 
King  of  Hirah  was  supposed  to  have  turned  Christ- 
ian because  of  a  brilliant  specimen  of  fidelity  shown 
to  him  by  a  member  of  the  Christian  tribe  of  Tay.f 

*  Noldeke*  Sasaniden,  205,  gives  reasons  for  placing  the  expedition 
«Luch  earlier. 

\Jahiz,  Mahasin,  75. 


p-      I 

of  \ 


tnem. 

Jewish  \ 
ith  the  1 
.rded  as         I 


38  Mohammed 

In  the  main  the  effects  on  the  life  and  character  of 
the  people  were  vanishingly  small.  A  member  of 
this  tribe,  'Adi,  son  of  Hatim,  was  taunted  by 
Mohammed  with  appropriating  a  fourth  of  the  spoil 
contrary  to  the  principles  of  his  religion  and  in 
accordance  with  the  practices  of  paganism.  Ali 
declared  that  the  Christianity  of  the  Taghlibites  was 
confined  to  the  drinking  of  wine  *  The  King  of 
Hirah,  though  a  Christian,  had  more  than  one 
wifef;  as  also  had  the  Ghassanide  Al-Mundhir.J  A 
long  story  is  told  of  the  Christian  Haudhah,  son  of 
'Ali,  a  member  of  the  tribe  Hanifah.  He  undertook 
to  escort  the  Persian  King's  caravan  safely  to  the 
Persian  frontier:  but  it  was  attacked  and  raided  by 
the  Banu  Sa'd.  Haudhah  redeemed  the  prisoners 
out  of  his  own  purse,  naturally  with  a  view  to  a 
reward  from  the  Persian  King,  who  richly  fulfilled 
his  hopes.  At  the  Persian  King's  request  he  pre- 
sently decoyed  the  Banu  Sa'd,  under  pretext  of 
selling  them  corn  in  a  year  of  famine,  into  a  building, 
where  they  were  killed  one  by  one  as  they  entered. 
We  are  not  surprised  to  find  him  regarding  con- 
version to  Islam  as  merely  a  matter  for  bargaining. 
We  should  require  thus  to  know  more  of  the 
inner  life  of  these  Christianised  tribes  before  we 
could  be  certain  whether  their  conversion  did  much 
else  than  take  away  the  restraints  which  pagan 
superstitions  had  placed  upon  them.  Thus  it  ap- 
pears  that,   whereas  pagan    Arabia   respected   the 


*Fell%  p.  49- 
\Noldekey  Sas.,  329. 
%Id.t  Gkass.%  29,  n.  I. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  39 

four  sacred  months,  it  was  unsafe  during  those 
months  to  traverse  the  land  of  the  Christian  tribes 
without  safe  conduct.*  A  Tai'ite  Christian,  who  at 
baptism  had  received  the  well-known  name  of  Ser- 
gius,  and  was  converted  to  Islam  in  Mohammed's 
lifetime,  explained  to  his  new  friends  some  re- 
markable expedients  which  he  had  invented  for 
camel  raiding:  he  used  to  store  water  in  ostrich 
eggs  and  bury  the  latter  at  points  in  the  desert 
known  only  to  himself;  hence  he  could  drive  the 
camels  to  regions  whither  no  one  cared  to  follow 
him.  f  His  whole  tribe  were  regarded  as  expert 
thieves.  %  Of  one  of  these  Christians  §  we  possess  a 
considerable  volume  of  poems :  they  were  composed 
certainly  in  the  days  of  the  second  Islamic  dynasty, 
but  the  spirit  they  breathe  is  that  of  the  Arabs 
before  Islam.  The  poet  taunts  his  enemies  with 
preferring  goods  and  chattels  to  vengeance ;  with 
accepting  blood-money  where  men  of  honour  would 
have  been  satisfied  only  with  blood.  If  he  ever 
heard  of  a  future  life,  it  affected  his  calculations  no 
more  than  the  thought  of  the  Elysian  Fields  affected 
Horace  ;  when  once  the  earth  should  close  over  him, 
no  more  pleasure,  he  was  convinced,  was  to  be  had. 
He  had  a  keen  idea  of  the  glories  of  his  tribe:  which 
consist  of  old  victories,  in  which  they  had  slain,  if  not 
thousands  and  ten  thousands,  yet  respectable  num- 
bers of  the  foe.  His  Muse  is  readily  roused  by  the 
thought  of  wine,  the  quality  of  which  he  thoroughly 

*Cf.  Muslim,  ii.,  254. 

\  Ishak,  985. 

\  Tirmidhi,  481  (ii.,  158.) 

%Al-Akhtal. 


4<d  Mohammed 

understood.  It  has  even  been  conjectured  that  the 
fragments  of  pre-Islamic  poetry  which  have  been  pre- 
served emanated  to  a  great  extent  from  professing 
Christians,  and  these  are  as  a  rule  characterised  by 
the  Pagan  spirit.  Traces  of  the  higher  morality 
which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with  Christian- 
ity are  not  easily  found  in  this  literature. 

The  life  then  of  these  Christianised  Arabs  seems  in 
many  respects  to  have  resembled  that  of  their  pagan 
brethren.  With  some  of  the  old  vices  they  retained 
the  old  virtues,  among  which  personal  prowess  was 
chief;  but  a  certain  class  of  the  population  kept  out  of 
the  righting  and  lived  in  quiet — the  monks  and  nuns. 
These  probably  did  not  abound  in  Arabia — for  the 
love  of  and  pride  in  offspring  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  that  country  would  have  a  tendency  to  render 
monastic  institutions  unpopular,  even  before  they 
were  branded  by  Mohammed  as  a  wicked  innova- 
tion :  but  there  were  monks  and  nuns,  *  and  proba- 
bly the  introduction  of  this  form  of  life  was  the 
most  important  alteration  produced  by  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Arab  tribes  to  Christianity.  It  would 
seem  likely  that  the  application  of  the  modern 
Arabic  alphabet  to  the  Arabic  language  originated 
with  these  men  f :  and  that  the  diffusion  of  that 
alphabet  over  the  Arabian  peninsula  was  due  to 
their  intercommunication.  As  some  of  these  per- 
sons assuredly  spent  their  ample  leisure  in  some 
form  of  study,  the  notion  that  the  true  religion  was, 
a  learned  religion  spread  about. 

*Cf.  Goldziher,  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  xlvi.,  44. 

f  Rothstein,  Lakhmiden,  27,  places  it  with  the  Christians  of  Hirah. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  4 1 

The  earlier  portions  of  the  Koran  give  evidence  of 
the  extreme  respect  with  which  "  Knowledge  of  the 
Book  "  was  regarded  by  the  Arab  who  was  without 
it.  The  very  vagueness  of  the  notion  contributed  to 
the  wonder  which  it  inspired.  The  Jews  and  Christ- 
ians were  literate,  and  pagans  illiterate.*  Early  in 
his  career  Mohammed  assumed  that  the  evidence  of 
one  of  the  people  of  the  Book  could  settle  any  his- 
torical question  beyond  the  possibility  of  contradic- 
tion. Of  the  veracity  of  the  Book  he,  at  no  time, 
held  any  doubt  whatever.  Novelists  sometimes  de- 
pict the  awe  which  book-learning  evokes  in  those  who 
are  absolutely  without  it ;  and  this,  which  for  a  time 
was  Mohammed's  attitude,  was,  if  not  normal,  at  any 
rate  common  among  the  pagans  of  Arabia  who  had 
come  into  contact  with  Jews  and  Christians. 

Some  of  the  Meccans  even  before  Mohammed  had, 
it  is  generally  supposed,  the  curiosity  to  pry  into  this 
awful  mystery  of  the  Book.f  Interest  therein  may  have 
been  aroused  by  the  Abyssinian  captives  or  deserters 
left  behind  after  the  unsuccessful  invasion  in  the 
year  of  the  Elephant  %\  perhaps  they  account  for  the 
presence  at  Meccah  of  some  Abyssinians  who  became 
prominent  at  the  commencement  of  Islam.  We  hear 
besides  of  certain  Ghassanide  Christians  who  were 
settled  at  Meccah  under  the  protection  of  the  Banu 
Zuhrah,§  the  Prophet's  uncles  on  the  mother's  side. 

*  Ali,  not  over  accurate  in  his  statements,  declared  that  when  Mo- 
hammed rose,  not  an  Arab  could  read  a  book. — Nahj  al-balaghah, 
51. 

f  For  a  list  see  Sir  C.  Lyall,  J.  R.  A.  S.,  1903. 

\  Azraki,  97. 

§  Ibid.,  466/ 


\ 


/ 


42  Mohammed 

Further,  the  wine-taverns  led  to  a  circulation  of 
Christian  and  Jewish  ideas  among  heathen  topers.* 
One  of  the  Meccan  inquirers,  Warakah,  son  of  Nau- 
fal,  cousin  of  Khadijah,  is  likely  to  have  had  much  to 
do  with  the  beginnings  of  Islam.  He  is  credited  with 
having  translated  a  Gospel,  or  part  of  one,  into 
Arabic  ;  it  was  probably  the  Gospel  of  the  Nativity, 
and  was  afterwards  useful  to  the  Prophet.  The 
legend  credits  Kais,  son  of  Nushbah,  of  the  tribe  Sul- 
aym,  which  dwelt  near  Meccah,  with  some  Book- 
knowledge  ;  he  is  thought  to  have  put  questions 
thence  to  Mohammed — out  of  books  unknown  to  us 
— which  the  latter  answered  correctly. f  Whether  the 
study  of  the  Book  was  regarded  by  the  Meccans  as 
equivalent  to  the  adoption  of  the  Christian  religion 
we  know  not ;  but  most  likely  it  was.  The  days  are 
not  so  far  off  when  Europeans  took  an  analogous 
view,  and  any  acquaintance  with  heretical  books  was 
thought  to  imply  free-thinking.  Moslem  tradition 
records  very  little  about  these  "  precursors  "  of  Mo- 
hammed, as  they  are  called,  which  can  be  trusted. 
Most  of  them  lived  at  a  time  when  not  to  be  against 
Mohammed  was  to  be  with  him. 

Even  outside  this  small  circle  (supposing  it  to  be 
historical)  the  influence  of  Judaism  and  perhaps 
Christianity  had  spread.  The  assertion  that  the 
Ka'bah  contained  a  picture  of  the  Madonna  may  of 
course  be  rejected  as  an  error;  but  old  names  for 
Friday  and  Sunday:):  must  have  been  derived  from 


*  Rothstein,  Lakhmiden,  26. 

f  Isabah,  iii.,  522. 

\  See  Fischer  in  Z.  D.  M.  (?.,!.,  224. 


The  Birthplace  of  the  Hero  43 

Jews  or  Christians,  and  there  is  reason  for  supposing 
that  some  ceremonies  belonging  to  these  sects  were 
imitated  at  Meccah.  Since  in  pagan  Rome  it  was 
not  unfashionable  to  respect  the  Jewish  holy  days, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  at  Meccah  enlightenment 
should  have  taken  the  form  of  aping  the  ways  of  the 
enlightened  communities.  Some  of  the  Meccans  are 
credited  with  having  practised  a  form  of  flagellation 
"  after  the  fashion  of  Christian  priests " ;  baring 
themselves  they  twisted  their  garments  into  scourges 
and  lashed  each  other.*  Abstention  from  wine — as 
a  form  of  religious  asceticism — is  said  to  have  been 
practised  by  several  of  the  pagan  Kuraish.  Christian 
preachers  were  occasionally  heard  at  the  national 
fairs,  and  a  proverb  appears  to  perpetuate  the  name 
of  one  who,  on  such  occasions,  exhibited  a  previously 
unattainable  degree  of  eloquence.  Kuss,  whose  name 
appears  to  be  a  mispronunciation  of  the  Syrian 
Kasha,  "  priest,"  said  to  be  Bishop  of  Najran,  de- 
livered such  an  address  at  the  market  of  'Ukaz  in  the 
hearing  of  the  Prophet  f ;  and  the  address,  as  the 
Arabs  preserve  it,  bears  a  marked  likeness  to  early 
passages  of  the  Koran,  and  may  have  contributed 
something  to  that  book.J  It  is  not  suggested  by 
our  authorities  that  the  persons  who  either  adopted 
Christianity  or  showed  inclination  towards  it  suffered 
much  inconvenience  at  Meccah.     Even  therefore  if 


*  Musnad,  iv.,   191. 

f  Bayan,  i.,  119. 

$A  long  story  is  told  about  Kuss  in  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  351-5, 
where  Kuss  figures  as  a  fortune-teller  ;  it  is  probably  pure  invention. 
Further  myths  about  him  in  Al-Dhakha'ir,  254. 


44  Mohammed 

the  Abyssinian  invasion  caused  some  recrudescence 
of  paganism  at  the  beginning  of  Mohammed's  life, 
the  effect  of  it  had  disappeared  by  the  time  he  was 
a  young  man. 

Speculation  is  perhaps  fruitless  when  directed  to 
the  probable  course  of  history  under  circumstances 
differing  from  those  that  actually  occurred.  Had 
Meccah  continued  to  increase  in  wealth  and  power 
under  her  sagacious  leaders,  it  is  not  probable  that 
her  people  would  have  remained  satisfied  with  a  re- 
ligious system  that  was  thought  barbarous  in  the 
countries  whence  she  would  have  been  compelled  to 
obtain  science  and  learning.  Yet  the  fact  that  the 
old  religion  was  the  source  of  her  material  prosperity 
would  have  rendered  the  substitution  for  it  of  either 
Christianity  or  Judaism  impracticable.  The  ideal 
Jsolution  of  the  problem  was  clearly  that  discovered 
in  time  by  Mohammed,  of  superseding  both  the 
enlightened  religions ;  retaining  the  old  source  of 
wealth,  but  in  a  system  which,  so  far  from  being 
backward,  was  in  advance  of  the  cult  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  So  tortuous,  however,  was  the  process  by 
which  this  solution  was  discovered  and  enforced  that 
the  symmetry  of  the  edifice  was  lost — as  perhaps 
ordinarily  occurs  when  a  stone  rejected  by  the  builder 
becomes  the  headstone  of  the  corner. 


CHAPTER  II 

EARLY  LIFE  OF  MOHAMMED 

MOHAMMED  was  the  child  of  Meccan  parents 
whose  names  are  given  as  Abdallah  (Servant 
of  Allah)  and  Aminah  (The  Safe  or  Secure). 
The  latter  belonged  to  the  Banu  Zuhrah,  the  former 
was  the  son  of  Abd  al-Muttalib,  of  the  clan  named 
Banu  Hashim.  It  is  certain  that  the  future  Pro- 
phet's father  died  before  his  son  was  born  ;  it  is  said, 
when  visiting  Yathrib,  afterwards  better  known  as 
Medinah.  Nor  did  his  mother  long  survive  him, 
and  her  grave  was  by  some*  said  to  be  at  Abwa,  a 
place  midway  between  the  two  cities,  where,  some 
fifty  years  after,  her  bones  lay  in  some  danger  of 
being  exhumed.  Their  son  inherited  from  them  a 
strong  constitution  capable  of  enduring  fatigue,  pri- 
vation, and  excess.  On  the  other  hand  the  notion 
current  among  Christian-  writers  f  that  he  was  sub- 
ject to  epilepsy  finds  curious  confirmation  in  the 
notices  recorded  of  his  experiences  during  the  pro- 
cess of  revelation — the  importance  of  which  is  not 

*A%raki,  481.    Perhaps  an  etymological  myth,  the  word  seeming  to 
mean  "  two  parents." 

\N6ldeke,  Gesch.  d.  Korans,  18. 

45 


46  Mohammed 

lessened  by  the  probability  that  the  symptoms  were 
often  artificially  reproduced.  That  process  was  at- 
tended by  a  fit  of  unconsciousness ;  accompanied  (or 
preceded)  at  times  by  the  sound  of  bells  in  the  ears  * 
or  the  belief  that  some  one  was  present  f  ;  by  a  sense 
of  fright,  such  as  to  make  the  patient  burst  out  into 
perspiration  % ;  by  the  turning  of  the  head  to  one 
side  §  ;  by  foaming  at  the  mouth  ||  ;  by  the  reddening 
or  whitening  of  the  face  ;  by  a  sense  of  headache.^" 
Still  we  read  of  only  two  cases  in  his  later  life  in 
which  the  fits  were  not  subject  to  his  own  control, 
once  when  he  fainted  at  the  intense  excitement  of 
the  battle  of  Badr,  and  once  when  he  had  himself 
bled  after  fasting.**  And  some  of  the  signs  of  severe 
epilepsy — biting  of  the  tongue,  dropping  what  is  in 
the  hand,ff  and  gradual  degeneration  of  the  brain 
power — were  wanting. 

He  was  received  into  his  father's  family, mnd  is 
said  to  have  spent  the  first  eight  years  of  his  life  in 
the  charge  of  Abd  al-Muttalib.  The  condition  of  a 
fatherless  lad  was  not  altogether  desirable  ;  and  late 
in  life  Mohammed  was  taunted  by  his  uncle  Hamzah 
(when  drunk)  with  being  one  of  his  father's  slaves.^ 


*  Gowers,  Epilepsy,  p.  70. 
\Ibid.y  69. 
\IHd.f  80. 

§  Tabari,  Comm.,  xxviii.,  4.     According  to  Gowers,  to  the  side 
on  which  the  convulsion  is  more  severe. 
I  Gowers,  169. 
^Alif-Bd,  ii.,  29. 
**  Musnad,  iM  148. 
ff  Gowers,  130. 
\X  Bokhari  (A'.),  ii.,  276. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  47 

Mohammed  being  a  posthumous  child,  little  in 
the  way  of  romance  gathered  about  his  father  ;  with 
his  grandfather  on  the  other  hand  the  fancy  of 
pious  Moslems  was  industrious.  Perhaps  one  or 
two  actual  facts  can  be  made  out  about  him.  It 
seems  clear  that  Mohammed  came  of  a  humble 
family  ;  this  crops  up  in  many  places.  The  Ku- 
raish  in  the  Koran  wonder  why  a  Prophet  should  be 
sent  them  who  was  not  of  noble  birth.  When  their 
Prophet  became  all-powerful,  they  compared  him  to 
a  palm  springing  out  of  a  dung-hill.*  On  the  day 
of  his  triumphal  entry  into  Meccah  he  told  the  peo- 
ple that  an  end  had  now  come  to  the  pagan  aris- 
tocracy by  blood. f  He  himself  rejected  the  title, 
"  Master  and  son  of  our  master,"  offered  him  by 
some  devotee.^  On  the  ground  of  these  anecdotes 
we  reject  as  fabulous  all  those  in  which  Abd  al- 
Muttalib  figures  as  a  leading  man  at  Meccah. § 

In  the  treasury  of  Ma'mun,  whose  reign  began  in 
812  A.D.,  a  document  was  preserved  in  which  a 
Himyarite  of  San'a  acknowledged  to  owing  Abd  al- 
Muttalib  one  thousand  silver  dirhems  of  the  standard 
of  Hudaydeh;  ''witness  thereunto,  Allah  and  the 
two  angels " ;  the  writing  was  Abd  al-Muttalib's, 
and  like  a  woman's  hand.||  "The  two  angels" 
stand,  we  suppose,  for  "the  two  'Uzzas,"  1.  e.,  the 
goddesses  Al-Lat  and  Al-'Uzza,  whose  names  may 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  166. 
\Ishak,  821. 
\  Musnad,  iii.,  241. 
§Cf.  Noldeke,  Sas.y  291. 
I  Fihrist,  p.  5. 


48  Mohammed 

have  figured  in  the  original  document.*  The  docu- 
ment may  have  been  spurious ;  yet  it  is  difficult  to 
see  why  a  forgery  should  have  taken  this  form. 
If  it  was  genuine,  we  should  infer  that  Abd  al-Mut- 
talib  was  possessed  of  some  capital,  and  occasionally 
lent  it  out ;  with  which  the  anecdote  that  makes  his 
son  Abbas  lend  money  to  the  people  of  Ta'if 
agrees.  In  order  to  harmonise  the  fact  of  his 
wealth  with  the  fact  of  his  being  in  a  humble  station 
we  have  to  suppose  that  the  profession  in  which 
his  money  was  made  was  not  an  honourable  one. 
Now  a  tradition  which  cannot  easily  be  set  aside  f 
gives  him  the  functions  of  providing  the  pilgrims 
with  water  and  also  with  food.  The  water  of  the 
well  Zemzem  (which  a  later  legend  made  him  dig) 
being  brackish,  he  used  to  render  it  potable  by  mix- 
ing it  with  camel's  milk,  honey,  or  raisins — the  last 
procured  from  Ta'if,  where  his  son  Abbas  afterwards 
possessed  a  vineyard.:):  That  he  put  himself  to  this 
trouble  and  expense  without  remuneration  is  not 
credible ;  hence  it  would  seem  that  the  offices  of 
"waterer  and  entertainer"  which  later  writers  re- 
present as  posts  of  honour  at  Meccah  resolve  them- 
selves into  a  trade,  and  one  that  was  not  honour- 
able ;  since  the  Prophet  afterwards  forbade  the  sale 
of  water,  and  lavish  hospitality  is  characteristic  of 
the  Arab  noble.  The  other  profession  (of  money- 
lender) was  also  of  little  esteem  in  the  eyes  of  the 


*  Cf.   W.  R.  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage,  60. 
f  Thus  Wakidi  (IV.)  makes  Hamzah  refer  to  it  on  the  battle-field 
of  Uhud. 
%Azraki,  70. 


2  •$ 

Ul  £> 

N  9 

2  ft 

N  *i 


* 


w    6 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  49 

Arabs,  and  many  a  poet  boasts  of  his  skill  in  elud- 
ing the  creditors'  claims.  *  The  name  Abd  al- 
Muttalib,  "  slave  of  al-Muttalib,"  of  which  a  fanciful 
explanation  is  given  by  our  historians,  is  probably 
to  be  interpreted  as  meaning  that  its  owner  was  at 
one  time  actually  a  slave,  though  afterwards  manu- 
mitted and  enrolled  in  the  Hashim  clan.f 

The  names  of  his  ten  sons  and  six  daughters  are 
probably  historical,  and  indeed  four  of  the  former  and 
two  of  the  latter  play  parts  of  importance  in  the  se- 
quel. All  ten  sons,  it  is  said,  were  of  massive  build 
and  dark  colour.  \  From  the  names  of  some  of  them 
we  learn  that  Abd  al-Muttalib  was  piously  disposed 
towards  the  deities  Allah,  Manat,  and  Al-'Uzza.  'Ab- 
bas appears  to  have  inherited  the  money-lending  and 
watering  businesses,  and  to  have  succeeded  well  in 
them.  He  also  imported  spices  from  Yemen  which 
he  sold  at  the  time  of  the  feast.  §  Abu  Talib  dealt 
in  cloth  and  perfume,  ||  and  succeeded  less  well.  An- 
other son,  Hamzah,  made  his  living  by  hunting.  A 
fourth,  Zubair,  was  engaged  in  the  carrying  trade, 
and  this  perhaps  furnished  the  remainder  with  the 
means  of  livelihood.  Abdallah,  the  Prophet's  father, 
is  supposed  to  have  died  while  absent  from  Meccah 
on  a  business  journey. 


*  Noldeke,  Beitr&ge  zur  Kenntniss  der  Poesie  der  alten  Araber, 

183-199. 

\  Baihaki,  Ma/iasint  393,    makes   him   originate   the   custom  of 
dyeing  the  hair  black. 

X  Jahiz,  Opuscula,  75,  5. 

§  Tabari,  1162,  13. 

|  Jahiz,  Mahasin,  165. 


50  Mohammed 

The  name  Mohammed  (of  which  Ahmad  and 
Mahmud  were  varieties)  *  was  given  the  future 
Prophet ;  it  was  apparently  not  uncommon,  and 
belonged  to  a  distant  connexion.  \  At  a  later  time, 
when  Mohammed's  enemies  wished  to  insult  him, 
they  called  him  the  son  of  Abu  Kabshah.  Great 
uncertainty  prevails  as  to  the  identity  of  this  per- 
son ;  some  holding  that  he  was  an  ancestor  of  the 
Prophet  %  or  ancient  Kurashite,  §  who  had  en- 
deavoured to  change  the  national  religion,  substi- 
tuting the  worship  of  Sirius  for  that  of  stones ; 
whence  Mohammed,  when  he  began  his  religious 
innovations,  was  regarded  as  his  moral  descendant. 
A  fragment  of  interesting  history  may  be  imbedded 
in  this  tale.  Mohammed,  it  is  said,  occasionally 
spoke  of  his  foster-father,  and  many  assumed  that 
Abu  Kabshah  was  the  man.  With  this  statement 
there  is  connected  a  legend  that  Mohammed  was 
nursed  by  some  woman  other  than  his  mother :  and 
this  woman's  husband  would,  according  to  Arabian 
ideas,  bear  a  relation  to  Mohammed  not  much  infe- 
rior to  that  of  father.  At  a  late  period  in  his 
career  a  captive  woman  claimed  to  be  his  foster- 
sister,  and  proved  her  claim  to  the  Prophet's  satis- 
faction by  showing  where  he  had  once  bitten  her  in 


♦The  discussion  of  these  names  by  Rosch,  Z.  D.  M.  G.y  xlvi., 
432-440,  leads  to  no  results. 

f  It  is  worth  noticing  that  the  name  of  the  Elephant  brought  by 
Abrahat  against  the  Ka'bah  was  Mahmud  {Azraki,  96  )  Was  the 
Prophet  thence  supposed  to  have  been  born  in  the  year  called 
after  it  ? 

\  Baidawi  on  Surah  liii.,  50. 

§  Zamakhshari,  Ibid. 


I 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  5 1 

the  back.  The  foster-sister,  however,  refused  an 
offer  to  remain  in  the  neighbourhood  of  her  distin- 
guished relation,  whence  we  are  perhaps  to  infer 
that  she  was  an  impostor ;  while  from  the  proof 
which  she  adduced  of  her  identity,  it  would  appear 
that  Mohammed  acknowledged  having  been  a  pas- 
sionate child.  The  family  to  whose  charge  he  was 
committed  are  all  of  them  shadowy  figures ;  their 
tribe  is  said  to  have  been  the  Banu  Sa'd,  a  branch 
of  the  Hawazin,  who  encamped  at  no  great  distance 
from  Meccah.*  The  identification  of  Abu  Kabshah 
with  the  father  of  the  family  seems  very  clearly  to 
rest  on  a  combination  which  may  be  sound,  but 
which  is  by  no  means  certain.  The  patronymic  f 
Abu  Kabshah  would  appear  to  have  been  fairly 
common,  and  calling  Mohammed  Abu  Kabshah's 
son  conveyed  some  sting ;  but  what  the  nature  of 
the  insult  was  we  cannot  define  with  certainty. 
Another  woman  to  whom  the  honour  of  having 
nursed  Mohammed  is  ascribed  was  Thuwaibah,  slave 
of  his  uncle  Abu  Lahab. 

It  is  said  that  Abd  al-Muttalib  died  when  his 
grandson  was  eight  years  of  age,  leaving  him  to  the 
care  of  his  uncle  Abu  Talib.  Abu  Talib  probably 
employed  him  in  looking  after  the  sheep  and  camels 
which  he  kept  at  'Uranah,  near  Mt.  Arafat,:f  just  as 
his  son  Ja'far  was  employed  in  looking  after  sheep  at 
Badr.  §  When  Mohammed  had  attained  to  power  and 

♦According  to  Al-Bekri,  at  Hudaibiah,  afterwards  the  scene  of 
some  famous  negotiations. 

t  "  Father  of  so-and-so,"  not  "son  of  so-and-so." 

%  Azraki,  71. 

§  Wakidi  (  W.),  73. 


52 


Mohammed 


eminence  he  still  used  to  tar  his  own  camel,*  and  to 
divert  himself  by  branding  the  camels  and  sheep  f 
that  were  brought  in  as  alms,  in  which  business  he 
displayed  some  technical  skill  %  ;  and  used  to  amaze 
his  followers  by  his  familiarity  with  the  details  of 
Bedouin  life.  In  such  societies  as  that  of  Meccah 
the  difference  between  the  occupations  of  the  grand 
and  the  humble  is  at  all  times  small,  most  of  all  in 
the  time  of  youth.  Mohammed  probably  did  much 
the  same  as  was  done  by  his  cousins  and  those  of  his 
uncles  who  were  near  his  age.  There  are  some  games 
which  Bedouin  children  play;  certain  weapons  of 
which  they  learn  the  use  in  early  life.  A  legend  § 
shows  us  the  youthful  Prophet  playing  at  "  white 
bone."  A  bone  of  "  dazzling  whiteness"  is  thrown 
to  a  distance  at  night ;  and  the  boy  who  finds  it  be- 
comes leader.  In  another  tradition  ||  Mohammed 
confesses  that  twice  when  he  was  feeding  his  flock, 
he  had  left  the  care  of  the  beasts  to  one  of  his  com- 
panions, in  order  that  he  might  take  part  in  the 
revelries  of  the  town  ;  on  both  occasions,  if  we  are  to 
believe  him,  sleep  fell  on  him  miraculously  before 
he  could  so  disgrace  himself. 

Mayeux  would  have  it  that  the  Bedouins  still 
attach  vast  importance  to  the  study  of  eloquence,  of 
fluent  and  correct  delivery;  and  Mohammed  may 
have  had  some  early  practice   in  this  accomplish- 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  175. 

f  Ibid.,  iii,  254. 

\  Isabah,  i.,  525. 

%Alif-Ba,  L,  322. 

I  Chronicles  of  Meccah,  iiM  7. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  .    53 

ment,  in  which  he  afterwards  excelled.  The  Arabs 
who  speculate  on  the  subject  observe  that  the  Arab 
eloquence  is  invariably  improvisation  * ;  the  elab- 
orate preparation  of  a  discourse  which  gives  value  to 
European  oratory  is  unknown  to  them. 

Further,  the  love  of  horses  which  characterised 
Mohammed  at  a  later  timef  is  likely  to  have  been 
imbibed  in  early  youth.  Many  traditions  record  his 
admiration  for  the  Arab  steed,  and  some  of  them  are 
likely  to  be  authentic ;  even  when  Prophet  and  sov- 
ereign of  Medinah  he  is  said  to  have  encouraged 
and  taken  part  in  horse-racing.^;  Not  a  few  of  the 
Meccans  possessed  horses,  as  appears  from  the  his- 
tory of  his  campaigns;  yet  their  employment  seems 
to  have  been  confined  to  war;  for  travelling  they 
used  the  camel.  The  horse,  however,  is  a  favourite 
subject  for  poetic  descriptions,  and  pride  in  the 
horse  is  characteristic  of  the  Arab  race.  Dogs  were 
detested  by  the  Prophet,  and  he  was  near  giving 
orders  to  extinguish  the  species. 

If  for  the  forty  years  of  Mohammed's  life  which 
elapsed  before  his  "  mission,"  we  omit  what  is  evi- 
dently or  most  probably  fabulous,  it  is  surprising 
how  little  remains  to  be  narrated.  There  appears, 
however,  to  be  no  ground  for  disputing  the  state- 
ment that  he  acted  as  helper,  supplying  arrows  to  his 
uncle  Zubair,  at  a  series  of  battles  which  took  place 
when  he  was  in  his  teens.  Those  battles  belonged 
to  wtat  is  known  as  the  second  Fijar  war,  waged 

*  Jahiz,  Bayan. 

f  Afusnad,  v.,  27  ;    Wakidi  (W.),  402. 

$  Afusnad,  iii.,  160  ;    Wakidi  {IV.),  184. 


54  Mohammed 

between  the  Kuraish  with  their  allies,  the  Kinanah, 
and  the  collection  of  tribes  called  Kais.  The  quar- 
rel arose  like  most  of  these  quarrels,  from  the  chief 
constituents  of  Arab  life,  the  blood-feud  and  the 
relation  of  patron  and  client.  The  King  of  Hirah 
desired  the  protection  of  a  central  Arabian  chieftain 
for  the  goods  which  he  was  sending  to  the  'Ukaz 
market.  This  was  offered  by  a  man  named  Al- 
Barrad,  who  had  been  ejected  from  tribe  after  tribe 
owing  to  his  bad  character,  but  whom  the  Kurashite 
Harb,  father  of  Mohammed's  antagonist  Abu  Sufyan, 
had  undertaken  to  protect.  The  King  perhaps  wisely 
preferred  the  guaranty  of  a  chieftain,  of  the  Kaisite 
tribe  Hawazin,  named  'Urwah,  whom  Al-Barrad,  out 
of  pique,  waylaid  and  slew.  But  then  he  remembered 
the  troublesome  fact  that  with  the  Hawazin  his  own 
life  would  not  count  as  the  equivalent  of  their  kins- 
man's ;  they  would  want  not  an  outcast  like  himself, 
but  some  eminent  member  of  the  tribe  that  had  fool- 
ishly taken  him  in.*  It  was  suggested  to  Abdallah 
Ibn  Jud'an,  an  eminent  Meccan,  with  whom  the  tribes 
that  came  to  the  fair  of  'Ukaz  deposited  their  arms, 
that  he  might  seize  those  of  the  Hawazin,  and  so 
render  them  harmless ;  but  he  refused  to  take  this 
unfair  advantage,  and  instead  restored  to  all  the 
tribes  their  arms  and  bade  the  Kuraish  return  to 
Meccah ;  on  the  way  thither  they  were  attacked  by 
the  Hawazin,  who,  after  an  uneventful  battle,  ar- 
ranged to  continue  the  fight  the  same  time^i  the 
following  year.  For  four  years  successively  the 
war,  or  rather  the  game,  was  renewed,  with  varying 

*  Kamil,  ii. ,  239  ;  Frocks  A,  Blutracht, 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  55 

success ;  at  the  fourth  battle  the  Kuraish  were  vic- 
torious, but  a  Kurashite  woman  who  had  married  a 
man  of  Kais  was  permitted  to  grant  their  lives  to 
any  Kaisites  who  took  refuge  in  her  tent,  which  she 
had  enlarged  on  purpose;  in  the  fifth  year  the 
Kaisites  got  the  better,  and  after  that  the  warfare 
dwindled  down  to  occasional  murders,  when  mem- 
bers of  the  rival  tribes  met.  Finally  the  parties 
decided  to  count  the  slain  and  pay  blood-money  for 
the  surplus.  The  series  of  mock  battles  was  dated 
by  the  Arab  archaeologists  from  the  fact  that  Mo- 
hammed took  no  part  in  the  first,  but  witnessed 
the  remainder.  It  was  naturally  inferred  that  he 
was  prevented  by  youth  from  being  present  at  the 
first  fight,  and  his  own  practice  at  a  later  time  was  to 
allow  no  recruits  younger  than  fifteen.  If  this  rea- 
soning be  correct,  the  period  covered  by  the  war 
would  be  584-588  A.D.  He  himself  dated  one  of 
the  fights  as  fought  in  his  twentieth  year. 

It  is  not  recorded  (except  indeed  in  a  legend 
which  scarcely  professes  to  be  historical)  that  Mo- 
hammed distinguished  himself  in  any  way  during 
these  wars ;  but  when  he  came  to  rule  a  state  him- 
self we  find  that  two  of  the  lessons  which  they  sug- 
gest to  the  modern  reader  had  impressed  themselves 
deeply  upon  his  mind.  One  was  the  necessity  of 
settling  affairs  of  blood  by  some  expedient  less 
wasteful  and  more  satisfactory  than  that  which  was 
illustrated  by  the  war  of  the  Fijar ;  and  a  second 
was  that  war  should  be  regarded  not  as  a  game 
which  might  be  played  for  an  indefinite  period, 
but  as  a  mode  of  obtaining  decisive  results.      His 


56  Mohammed 

enemies  arranged,  when  they  were  successful,  to 
continue  the  battle  next  year,  but  not  he.  Nor  do 
we  find  him  imitating  the  conduct  of  the  chivalrous 
Abdallah,  son  of  Jud'an,  who  furnished  a  vindictive 
foe  with  weapons  to  be  used  against  his  friends. 

The  story  of  this  war  is  of  interest,  since  of  those 
who  figured  in  it,  many  were  fathers  of  men  who  be- 
came prominent  in  the  Prophet's  time,  and  some 
continued  their  activity  into  that  period.  Abdallah, 
son  of  Jud'an,  probably  loomed  in  the  eyes  of  the 
youthful  Prophet  as  a  mighty  figure.  The  legend 
makes  him  fabulously  wealthy,  as  having  discovered 
a  mass  of  jewels  hidden  in  a  hill,  with  the  aid 
whereof  he  became  chief  of  his  tribe,  and  indeed 
the  leading  man  in  Meccah,  profuse  in  gifts  and 
lavish  in  hospitality*;  late  in  life  Mohammed  could 
recall  banquets  given  by  the  great  man,  at  which 
verses  in  his  praise  were  recited.f  Harb,  son  of 
Umayyah,  who  commanded  on  one  of  the  days,  % 
was  the  father  of  the  Meccan  who  opposed  to  Mo- 
hammed the  most  dogged  resistance.  Al-Zubair, 
the  Prophet's  uncle,  who  was  at  times  in  command, 
appears  on  few  occasions  in  history  ;  he  is,  however, 
said  to  have  been  a  poet,  and  to  have  practised  hos- 
pitality on  a  liberal  scale  to  poets  of  other  tribes ; 
and  on  one  occasion  to  have  taken  his  nephew  with 
him  on  a  journey  into  Yemen.  A  story  (which  we 
have  no  means  of  checking)  makes  him  venture  to 
dispute  the  patronage  of  Harb,  father  of  Abu  Sufyan, 


*Goldziher,  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  xlvi.,  7. 

f  Isabah,  ii.,  706. 

\Kamilol  Mubarrad,  i.,  187. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  57 

when  his  own  father,  Abd  al-Muttalib,  was  prepared 
to  respect  it.* 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Mohammed  often  accom- 
panied the  Meccan  caravans  to  their  various  de- 
stinations. The  leading  men  of  Meccah  were  con- 
stantly engaged  in  the  conduct  of  these  caravans,  in 
which,  as  has  been  seen,  many  military  qualities 
could  be  displayed.  Their  caravans  regularly  visited 
Syria  and  Yemen,  but  occasionally  Egypt,  Abys- 
sinia, and  Persia  provided  them  with  markets ;  the 
last  of  these  countries  not  being  in  regular  com- 
mercial relations  with  them.f  The  Christian  king- 
dom of  Hirah  was  also  said  to  be  visited  by  Meccan 
merchants;  and  one  of  the  lovers  of  Hind,  daughter 
of  'Utbah,  of  whom  more  will  be  heard,  is  said  to 
have  been  a  courtier  of  the  King  of  Hirah,  whose 
assistance  he  could  demand  for  matrimonial  pro- 
jects.^: In  a  tradition  the  Prophet  speaks  of  the 
white  palaces  of  Hirah,  seen  by  him  (professedly) 
from  Medinah.  The  Koran  shows  him  acquainted 
with  travelling  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land ;  he  there 
describes  the  motions  of  ships  and  the  results  of 
storms  with  a  realism  which  savours  of  experience. 
He  knows  too  of  a  sweet  sea  as  well  as  of  a  salt  sea ; 
the  former  he  calls  Euphrates ;  the  two,  he  sup- 
posed, were  kept  from  combining  by  a  dam.  His 
language  about  Egypt  seems  also  to  imply  that  he 
had  been  there  §;  and  there  is  reason  for  supposing 

*Jahizt  Mahasin,  154.  \  Isabah,  iii.,  379. 

\Aghani,  viii.,  50.     Probably  an  anachronism  is  involved. 

§  Noldeke,  Sketches,  c.  ii.,  shows  that  Mohammed  was  unaware  that 
<o  rain  falls  in  Egypt  ;  perhaps,  however,  the  error  is  due  to  mo- 
mentary forgetfulness. 


58  Mohammed 

him  to  have  seen  the  Dead  Sea.  The  rock-tombs  of 
Al-Hijr  had  deeply  impressed  his  imagination  before 
he  passed  by  them  at  the  head  of  an  army.  He  had 
visited  Bahrain  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  late  in  life 
could  well  remember  the  names  of  many  villages 
there,  as  well  as  the  local  names  of  several  varieties  of 
dates*;  just  as  his  attention  had  been  struck  by  a 
breed  of  tailless  sheep  in  Yemen,  f 

That  Mohammed  on  these  journeys  made  ac- 
quaintances who  afterwards  proved  serviceable 
seems  likely,  and  indeed  we  know  the  names  of 
some  of  his  foreign  or  provincial  friends,  though 
ordinarily  only  the  names.  Khalid,  son  of  Hawari, 
is  given  as  the  name  of  an  Abyssinian  acquaintance; 
the  dialect  of  the  father's  name  makes  it  likely  that 
this  statement  is  correct.  Iyad,  son  of  Himar,  of 
the  tribe  Mujashi,  is  given  as  another.:): 

To  none  of  these  journeys  can  we  assign  any  date, 
except  that  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made,  when  he  himself  conducted  an  expedition  to 
Bostra.  On  all  of  them  he  would  appear  to  have 
picked  up  information.  Sometimes  this  was  gained 
from  visits  to  places,  as  to  smelting  works ;  for 
such  a  visit  may  well  be  inferred  from  his  curious 
comparison  of  the  torrent,  which  carries  away  scum 
and  bears  fertilising  water,  to  the  molten  metal,  of 
which  the  slag  is  carried  away,  whereas  the  substance 
of  which  utensils  are  made  remains.  But  most  of 
his  information  was  doubtless  gathered  from  conver- 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  206. 
\  Ibid.,  iv.,  297. 
%  Ibn  Duraid,  147. 


z 

3  -a 

>       V 


CO     < 

5    2 
2  O 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  59 

sat  ions  (*.£•.,  at  wine-shops)  or  from  listening  to  story- 
tellers. To  any  well-guarded  caravan  in  Eastern 
countries  some  strangers  are  sure  to  attach  them- 
selves, who  are  anxious  to  enjoy  the  security  and 
who  in  return  will  make  themselves  useful  or  agree- 
able. Among  such  would  doubtless  be  Jewish 
dealers  who  traded  in  clothes*  and  other  goods. 
From  intercourse  with  these  persons  the  Prophet  is 
likely  to  have  derived  many  an  anecdote,  and  also 
many  an  outlandish  expression.  Some  of  these 
would  figure  in  his  conversation  \ ;  and  his  sacred 
book  afterwards  contained  a  number  of  phrases 
which  even  his  intimate  associates  at  Meccah  did 
not  understand.^: 

What  is  known  as  education  he  clearly  had  not  re- 
ceived. It  is  certain  that  he  was  not  as  a  child 
taught  to  read  or  write,  though  these  arts  were 
known  to  many  Meccans,  as  will  appear  from  the 
sequel ;  their  use  in  commerce  was  so  great,  as  Mo- 
hammed himself  afterwards  emphasised,  that  his 
failing  to  learn  them  was  probably  due  to  the  neglect 
into  which  an  orphan  ordinarily  falls.  For  the  other 
Arab  fine  art,  poetry,  he  had  absolutely  no  ear: 
hence  we  may  infer  that  the  form  of  education  which 
consisted  in  learning  by  heart  the  tribal  lays  §  was 
also  denied  him.  Yet  even  here  his  power  of  picking 
up  information  did  not  altogether  fail.  The  Tradi- 
tion could  name  verses  which  had  specially  attracted 


+  Goldziher,  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  xlvi.,  185. 

\  Kami/,  i.,  27. 

\  Comm.  on  Surah  xvi.,  47. 

§  Jahiz^  Bayany  i.,  107. 


60  Mohammed 

the  Prophet's  fancy.*  The  language  of  the  Koran 
was  thought  by  experts  to  bear  a  striking  likeness  to 
that  of  the  early  poetry  :  and  though  for  us  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  pass  an  opinion  on  this  point,  seeing  that  the 
early  poetry  is  largely  fabrication  modelled  on  the 
Koran,  we  may  accept  the  opinion  of  the  Arabs.  Of 
those  lays  which  were  recited  on  solemn  or  festive 
occasions  some  verses  then  stuck  in  his  memory  and 
provided  the  form  of  future  revelations.  Notwith- 
standing this  fact  he  had  a  sincere  aversion  for 
poetry,f  and  an  equally  strong  one  for  the  only 
other  known  form  of  literary  composition^  — rhymed 
prose.  Perhaps  he  thus  avenged  himself  for  the  want 
of  education  which  had  rendered  him  unable  to 
handle  either. 

From  intercourse  with  Arabian  Jews  and  Christians 
he  derived  a  sort  of  biblical  phraseology,  §  such  as  is 
to  be  found  in  the  works  not  only  of  Eastern  Jews 
and  Christians,  but  even  in  the  modern  languages  of 
Europe.  Of  phrases  like  "  tasting  death,"  "  to  bring 
from  darkness  to  light,"  "  to  pervert  the  straight 
way  of  God,"  "  the  trumpet  shall  be  blown,"  "  to  roll 
up  the  heavens  as  a  scroll  is  rolled  up,"  "  they  have 
weights  in  their  ears,"  "  the  new  heavens  and  the 
new  earth,"  "  the  first  and  second  death,"  "  that 
which  eye  hath  not  seen   nor  ear   heard   nor  hath 

*  Jahiz,  Mahasin,  186;  Musnad,  vi.,  31. 

f  Goldziher \  M.  S.,  i.,  53.,  regards  this  as  a  theological  aversion, 
the  poets  being  the  chief  exponents  of  pagan  ideas.  Surah  xxxvi., 
69. 

\Musnad,  iv.,  245  ;  Jahiz,  Bayan,  i.,  112. 

§  Preserved  Smith  suggests  that  many  of  these  phrases  may  have 
been  merely  Semitic. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  6 1 

entered  into  the  heart  of  man,"  "a  camel  entering 
a  needle's  eye,"  "  as  far  as  the  East  is  from  the  West, 
so  far  hath  he  removed  our  sins  from  us"  * — a  biblical 
scholar  would  have  easily  been  able  to  tell  the  source : 
Mohammed  probably  heard  them  in  the  conversation 
of  his  pious  friends  and  automatically  adopted  them. 
To  the  last  he  appears  to  have  adhered  to  the  habit 
of  picking  up  information  and  then  utilising  it:  he 
heard  casually  from  his  girl-wife  Ayeshah  that  a 
Jewess  had  talked  to  her  about  the  torment  of  the 
grave;  after  this  he  introduced  a  prayer  to  be  de- 
livered therefrom  into  his  ordinary  devotion.  Having 
heard  a  Mary  mentioned  in  the  story  of  Moses  and 
another  in  the  story  of  Jesus,  it  did  not  occur  to  him 
to  distinguish  between  them.  Late  in  his  career  he 
casually  heard  from  a  visitor  to  Najran  that  they 
were  separated  by  some  thousands  of  years  ;  he  did 
not  reject  this  information,  but  found  a  means  of 
reconciling  it  with  his  former  statement.f  When 
at  times  some  Jew  or  Christian  testified  publicly  that 
Mohammed  had  correctly  reproduced  the  informa- 
tion which  he  had  picked  up,  it  occasioned  him  the 
keenest  pleasure.^ 

Of  the  superstitions  of  the  Arabs,  which  differ 
slightly,  if  at  all,  from  those  of  other  races,  he  would 
seem  to  have  imbibed  a  fair  share.  To  omens, 
especially  those  connected  with  names,  he  attached 
great  importance.    When  a  man  was  wanted  to  milk 


*  Musnad,  vi.,  57. 

f  Muslim^  ii . ,  168 .   There  is  a  controversy  on  this  subject;  see  Ed, 
Sayous,  J/sus-Christ  d'aprh  Mahomet,  Paris,  1880,  p.  36. 
\  Muslim ,  ii.  380. 


/ 


62  Mohammed 

a  camel,  he  disqualified  one  applicant  after  another, 
till  one  offered  whose  name  meant  "long  life."* 
Whenever  the  name  of  a  new  adherent  contained 
anything  ill-omened,  it  was  his  custom  to  alter  it ; 
if  a  convert  was  named  Rough,  he  called  him 
Smooth.  At  the  most  important  crisis  in  his  career, 
the  preparation  for  the  battle  of  Badr,  and  at  other 
times,  f  he  was  guided  in  his  strategy  by  the  names 
of  the  places  on  the  different  routes.  Just  as 
Bedouin  tribes  were  guided  in  their  migrations  by 
the  instincts  of  their  camels,  so  Mohammed,  at 
times,  left  the  determination  of  his  policy  to  the 
conduct  of  the  beast  which  he  happened  to  be 
riding.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  evil  eye,  and 
the  possibility  of  averting  it  by  means  of  charms ; 
nor  does  he  ever  seem  to  have  doubted  the  efficacy 
of  incantations.  As  such  he  at  one  time  recom- 
mended the  Lord's  Prayer — or  as  much  as  he  knew 
of  it  J ;  when  portions  of  his  Koran  had  become 
classical  he  approved  of  their  being  used  for  this 
purpose ;  and  even  claimed  part  of  the  fee  when  a 
serpent's  bite  was  healed  by  the  aid  of  one  of  the 
verses.  §  Belief  in  the  Jinn,  mysterious  beings  who 
haunted  the  desert,  was  authorised  by  him,  whether 
he  shared  it  himself  or  not.  From  some  super- 
stitions he  emancipated  himself  in  time.  It  is 
recorded  that  when  his  followers  wished  to  attribute 


*  fsabah,  i.,  655. 
f  WaHdi  (  W.\  266. 

\Musnad,  vi.,  21.     It  was  similarly  used  by  Christians  :  y.  M 
Robertson,  A  Short  History  of  Christianity,  125. 
§  Musnad,  ii.,  183. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  63 

an  eclipse  of  the  sun  to  the  death  of  his  son 
Ibrahim,  he  assured  them  that  eclipses  were  not 
connected  with  the  fortunes  of  any  persons,  however 
important.  Still  he  continued  to  regard  eclipses  as 
events  of  a  serious  nature,  for  which  a  special  form 
of  prayer  was  desirable. 

Experience  as  a  caravan-boy  taught  him  the  art 
of  scouting;  the  power  of  inferring  from  minute 
signs  and  indications  much  about  the  whereabouts, 
the  numbers,  and  the  equipments  of  the  enemy, 
perhaps  not  more  than  many  of  the  caravan-leaders 
knew,  yet  sufficient  to  stand  him  in  good  stead 
when  he  became  a  captain  of  banditti.  At  times 
secret  ways  of  procuring  information  stood  at  his 
command,  the  nature  of  which  we  can  scarcely 
divine.  But  nature,  rather  than  experience,  had  en- 
dowed him  with  one  gift  more  to  be  envied  than 
any  other:  knowledge  of  mankind.  His  instinctive 
judgment  of  men  and  people  was  rarely,  we  might 
say  never,  wrong. 

The  personal  appearance  of  the  Prophet  in  mid- 
dle life  was  recorded  by  many  persons.  According 
to  the  ordinary  tradition  he  was  "  of  middle  height, 
bluish  coloured,  with  hair  that  was  neither  straight 
nor  curly :  with  a  large  head,  large  eyes,  heavy 
eyelashes,  a  reddish  tint  in  his  eyes,  thick-bearded, 
broad-shouldered,  with  thick  hands  and  feet "  * ; 
another  description  adds  "  with  a  large  mouth,  with 
eyes  horizontally  long,  and  with  little  flesh  on  the 
heels  "  f  ;  according  to  one  account  his  hands  were 

+  Musnad,  i.,  89  ;  Bokhari  {K.),  ii.,  392. 
f  Muslim ,  ii.,  217. 


64  Mohammed 

abnormally  soft,  which  the  palmists  tell  us  signifies 
"  a  natural  tendency  towards  the  miraculous."  His 
style  of  dress  seems  to  have  varied  at  different 
times:  his  favourite  costume  being  a  striped  dress 
of  Yemen  make,*  though  sometimes  he  wore  a 
Syrian  jubbah  with  narrow  sleeves, f  or  a  cloak  (mirt) 
of  twisted  black  hair,;):  or  a  red  gown  (Jiullati).%  On 
the  day  of  the  taking  of  Meccah  he  wore  a  black 
turban.  1 

What  is  recorded  of  his  tastes  and  habits  exhibits 
ordinarily  a  high  degree  of  refinement  and  delicacy. 
He  abhorred  anything  that  produced  an  evil  odour : 
garlic  and  onions  were  described  by  him  as  evil 
vegetables,  ^[  and  his  loathing  of  anything  that 
tainted  the  breath  was  used  as  a  lever  by  mem- 
bers of  his  harem.  When  sovereign  he  found  fault 
with  those  whose  hair  was  untidy,  or  whose  clothes 
were  dirty,**  being  himself  particular  as  to  his  ap- 
pearance. He  disliked  yellow  teeth, ft  and  almost 
made  the  use  of  the  toothpick  a  religious  ordinance. 

We  know,  from  the  Koran, J;);  that  Mohammed  was 
a  young  man  of  promise,  and,  indeed,  should  expect 
that  the  astounding  talents  which  he  afterwards  dis- 
played would  give  evidence  of  themselves  in  youth. 


*  Hibrah.  Muslim ,  ii.,  154. 

\  Musnad,  i.,  29. 

%Ibid.,  vi.,  162. 

§  Bokhari  (A".),  ii.,  392. 

I  Musnad,  iii.,  363. 

%  Ibid,,  iv.,  19. 

**  Ibid.,  iii.,  356. 

\\  Ibid.,  iii.,  442. 

%%  Surah  xi.,  65. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  65 

And  of  his  ambition  we  have  evidence  in  the  comfort 
which  his  notoriety  afforded  him  at  a  time  when 
few  things  were  going  well  with  his  project:  u  Have 
we  not  expanded  thy  breast  and  exalted  thy  name?" 
is  the  form  which  the  divine  consolation  takes,  when 
the  Prophet  is  in  trouble.  Expansion  of  the  breast, 
the  organisation  of  life  about  a  new  centre,  as  P10- 
fessor  Starbuck  expresses  it,  and  celebrity,  were  then 
things  for  which  he  yearned  ;  but  his  early  promise 
Jed  to  none  of  those  fiascos  in  which  the  efforts  of 
persons  who  are  anxious  to  distinguish  themselves 
are  apt  to  result. 

And  how  could  Mohammed  distinguish  himself? 
Like  Beckwourth,  doubtless,  who,  in  every  fight, 
killed  the  rival  chieftain,  or  at  every  assault  was  the 
first  to  scale  the  wall ;  so  the  battles  of  Fijar  (and 
others  perhaps  of  which  there  is  no  record)  gave  Mo- 
hammed the  chance  of  proving  himself  the  first  man 
of  the  Kuraish.  At  these  battles  his  future  antago- 
nists, Abu  Sufyan  and  his  brother,  had  won  the  title 
"  The  Lions."  *  Men,  too,  who  played  a  rdle  similar 
to  that  of  David  were  not  wanting  in  Arabia.  The 
poet-king  Imru'ulkais,  being  driven  from  home  by  his 
father,  had  collected  a  number  of  outcasts  round 
him  with  whom  he  raided  his  neighbours.  The 
sequel  shows  that  Mohammed  was  not  born  for  that 
sort  of  distinction.  Care  for  his  life  and  safety  was 
invariably  his  first  consideration  ;  in  the  presence  of 
danger,  indeed,  he  kept  his  head,  and  even  fought,  if 
necessary,  bravely.  But  he  lacked  the  courage  of 
the  man  who,  when  a  champion  is  called  for,  hurries 

*  Ibn  Duraid%  103. 
5 


66  Mohammed 

to  be  first.     The  four  Fijar  battles  therefore  brought 
him  no  laurels. 

The  lads  who  were  prepared  to  pass  their  lives  in 
camel-driving,  or  similar  occupations,  doubtless  took 
to  themselves  wives  at  seventeen  or  eighteen,  and  so 
settled  into  a  slough  of  poverty,  whence  they  could 
not,  save  by  marvellous  luck,  emerge.  Mohammed, 
though  not  without  his  share  of  that  passion  of 
which  the  Talmud  rightly  says  nine  parts  have  been 
given  to  the  Arabs,  and  only  one  to  the  rest  of  the 
world,  waited  to  marry  till  he  could  better  himself 
thereby.  He  had  indeed  made  an  offer  for  the  hand 
of  his  cousin,  Umm  Hani,  Abu  Talib's  daughter,  a 
girl  of  whom  he  doubtless  saw  much  in  his  childhood 
and  youth.  For  the  character  of  the  relations  be- 
tween the  sexes  at  this  time  an  analogy  should  be 
drawn  rather  from  Bedouin  life  than  from  the  town 
life  introduced  by  the  founder  of  Islam;  and  in  the 
Bedouin  life  these  marriages  between  cousins,  which 
are  normal,  are  often  preceded  and  determined  by 
attachment.*  Mohammed's  proposal  was  rejected 
by  his  uncle,  who  preferred  another  and  probably 
richer  cousin.  This  early  rebuff  may  have  had 
something  to  do  with  the  future  career  of  the 
Prophet,  on  whom  the  ills  of  poverty  had  thus  been 
painfully  impressed.  Long  after,  Umm  Hani,  re- 
lieved of  her  husband,  desired  Mohammed  to  renew 
the  offer,  but  he  refused.  When  he  was  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  Khadijah,  the  wealthy  woman  whose 


*  Mayeux,  iii.,  143.  The  well-informed  novelist  in  the  Egyptian 
magazine  Rats,  ii.,  93,  makes  it  a  rule  of  the  Bedouins  that  love 
must  not  precede  marriage. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  67 

caravan  he  had  safely  conducted,  offered  him  her 
hand.  Arab  ladies  have  to  this  day  no  gine  in 
such  matters,  and  in  pagan  times  women  were 
doubtless  freer  than  after  Islam  had  introduced 
the  veil ;  some  of  the  privileges  dating  from  the  old 
days  of  matriarchate  remaining.*  She  was  some 
years  older  than  Mohammed,  but  assuredly  not 
forty,  as  Mohammed's  biographers  assert ;  though 
the  legend  makes  some  of  the  Bedouin  ladies  keep 
their  good  looks  till  eighty  or  even  one  hundred,f 
and  the  Kurashite  women  were  regarded  as  an 
exception  to  the  law  which  renders  childbearing 
impossible  after  sixty.  %  Her  nephew  Hakim,  son 
of  Hizam,  was  one  of  the  Meccan  magnates.  At 
a  later  period  he  figures  as  a  trader,  and,  indeed, 
a  speculator  in  corn.§  He  professed  to  have 
liberated  forty  slaves  in  Pagan  times. ||  If  it  be  true 
that  he  gave  four  hundred  dirhemsT  for  the  slave 
Zaid,  son  of  Harithah,  and  then  presented  him  to 
his  aunt,  he  must,  indeed,  have  had  means — accumu- 
lated, it  is  said,  by  rigid  economy.**  Khadijah's 
cousin  Warakah  is  said  to  have  blessed  the  union 
in  the  homely  language  of  the  Bedouins,  calling 
Mohammed   a  camel  "whose   nose  would   not   be 


*  Robertson  Smith,  in  his  Kinship  and  Marriage,  has  an  excursus 
on  Khadijah's  marriage,  but  brings  no  fresh  light. 

f  Jahiz,  Afahasin,  205. 

\Id.,  Opuscula,  78,  5. 

%AIusnad,  iii.,  403. 

I  Ibid.,  iii.,  434. 

1  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  27. 

**  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  315.  He  was  one  of  those  who  ran  away  from 
Badr.     Ibn  Duraid,  103. 


68  Mohammed 

struck."*  The  future  Prophet  left  his  uncle's  camels 
to  become  master  of  a  house — or  part  of  one,  for 
Khadijah  lived  in  the  house  of  her  above-mentioned 
nephew,  in  the  Hizamiyah  street,  with  a  covered 
walk  and  a  garden,  where  there  was  a  door  leading 
to  the  house  of  'Awwam,  who  had  married  an  aunt 
of  the  Prophet.  \ 

That  great  step  in  a  career  had  been  taken  where- 
by a  man,  freed  from  the  absorbing  care  of  his  daily 
bread,  like  a  balloon  loosed  from  its  moorings, 
begins  to  ascend.  Henceforth  he  either  led  no 
camels,  or  led  his  own.  But  indeed  he  appears  to 
have  been  set  up  in  business  in  Meccah,  having  for 
his  partner  Kais,  son  of  Al-Sa'ib,  whose  fidelity  he 
afterwards  commended  highly.  The  tradition  ap- 
pears not  to  know  with  what  goods  he  supplied  his 
fellow-citizens,  though  it  has  preserved  this  detail  in 
the  case  of  his  immediate  associates.  In  the  one 
shopping  scene  of  which  we  have  a  record  for  this 
period  the  Prophet  is  buyer,  not  seller.  Suwaid,  son 
of  Kais,  said :  "  Makhramah,  the  Abdite,  and  I 
brought  a  bale  of  clothes  from  Haji  to  Meccah  ;  the 
Prophet  bargained  with  us  for  a  pair  of  breeches ; 
there  were  in  the  shop  some  persons  who  were  weigh- 
ing with  pieces  of  clay,  and  the  Prophet  told  them 
to  give  us  good  measure."  %  Since  breeches  could 
scarcely  be  sold  by  weight,  perhaps  the  Prophet  gave 
them  some  grain  or  fruit  in  return.    Mohammed  and 

*  Mubarrad,  Kamil,  i.,  93.  Another  tradition  ascribes  the  words 
to  Abu  Sufyan,  when  Mohammed  married  his  daughter.  Letters  0/ 
Hamadhani,  p.  216. 

f  Azraki,  463. 

\Musnadt  iv.,  352. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  69 

his  partner  offered  their  goods  for  sale  in  the  dwelling 
of  the  latter,*  and  the  traces  of  this  calling  are  found 
all  over  his  Sacred  Book.  A  dissertation  has  been 
written  on  the  commercial  language  of  the  Koran, 
showing  that  the  tradesman  Prophet  could  not  keep 
free  of  metaphors  taken  from  his  business.  M  God," 
he  repeatedly  says,  "  is  good  at  accounts.  The  Be- 
lievers are  doing  a  good  business,  the  unbelievers 
a  losing  trade.  Those  who  buy  error  for  guidance 
make  a  bad  bargain."  The  shake  of  the  hand  which 
closes  a  bargain  became  with  him  and  his  followers 
the  form  by  which  homage  was  done  to  a  sovereign. 
Even  when  he  was  sovereign  at  Medinah  he  did  not 
disdain  to  buy  goods  wholesale  and  make  a  profit  by 
selling  them  retail  f ;  while  occasionally  he  consented 
to  act  as  auctioneer.  % 

Children  were  born  to  the  couple,  four  daughters 
and  one  son  or  more ;  whence  Mohammed  could  call 
himself  honourably  Abu'l-Kasim,  father  of  Kasim, 
after  the  style  of  the  Arabs ;  whether  they  held  like 
the  Indians  that  a  sonless  man  goes  straight  to  hell, 
or  whether  without  a  son  a  man  had  no  full  franchise. 
But  the  son  or  sons  died  in  infancy,§  and  the  girls  were 
weaklings,  of  whom  the  most  long-lived  did  not  see 
her  fortieth  year  ;  whence  some  who  understand  med- 
icine have  drawn  their  inferences  about  their  father. 
The  names  of  some  of  the  children  show  that  their' 


*  Azraki,  471. 

f  Afusnad,  i.,  255. 

\Ibid.i  Hi.,  in.  Hence  he  is  supposed  to  have  invented  auc- 
tions.    Baihaki,  Mahasin,  393,  3. 

§One  of  these  was  born  in  Islam,  according  to  our  authorities, 
after  his  mother  was  fifty-two.     Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  2. 


jo  Mohammed 

parents  when  they  named  them  were  idolators.  Nor 
is  there  anything  to  indicate  that  Mohammed  was  at 
this  time  of  a  monotheistic  or  religious  turn  of  mind. 
He  with  Khadijah  performed  some  domestic  rite  in 
honour  of  one  of  the  goddesses  each  night  before 
retiring.*  At  the  wedding  of  his  cousin,  Abu 
Lahab's  daughter,  he  is  represented  as  clamouring 
for  sport  f ;  and  indeed  even  when  Prophet  he  had  a 
taste  for  the  performances  of  singing  girls.  %  He  con- 
fessed to  having  at  one  time  sacrificed  a  grey  sheep 
to  Al-'Uzza§ — and  probably  did  so  more  than  once, 
since  after  his  mission  he  used  to  slaughter  sheep  for 
sacrifice  with  his  own  hands.]  A  story  which  may 
be  true  shows  us  Mohammed  with  his  stepson  invit- 
ing the  Meccan  monotheist  Zaid,  son  of  \Amr,  to 
eat  with  them — of  meat  offered  to  idols :  the  old 
man  refused ;  thereby  inspiring  Mohammed  with  a 
dislike  for  such  food-T 

Of  Khadijah's  children — and  Mohammed  appears 
to  have  had  both  stepsons  and  stepdaughters — not 
much  is  recorded.  Mohammed  was  at  all  times  of 
an  affectionate  disposition,  and  even  demonstratively 
so ;  he  expressed  disgust  at  a  man  who  having  ten 
children  declared  that  he  had  never  kissed  one  of 
them  ** :  and  he  remained  demonstratively  affection- 
ate to  the   end  towards  the  slave   Zaid,  whom  he 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  222. 

\Ibid.,  iv.,  67. 

\  Ibid.,  iii.,  391. 

§  Wellhausen,  Reste,  34. 

\  Musnad,  iii.,  99. 

\  Ibid.,  i.,  189. 

**  Tirmidhi,  321  (i.,  348). 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  7 1 

adopted  as  a  son.  In  his  prayers  he  would  at  times 
hold  a  child  in  his  arms  when  he  stood  up,  putting 
it  down  when  he  prostrated  himself.*  At  Medinah  f 
he  would  let  a  little  girl  take  his  hand  and  lead  him 
where  she  chose.  Affectionate  treatment  of  step- 
children is  attested  for  a  later  period  of  his  life.  % 
He  is  not  likely  to  have  failed  in  his  duty  towards 
Khadijah's  children  :  and  indeed  one  of  these  is  said 
to  have  lost  his  life  in  endeavouring  to  save  Moham- 
med from  the  fury  of  the  populace  when  he  first 
preached  the  unity  of  God.  Of  another  a  story  is 
told  in  which  he  offers  friendly  counsel  to  his  step- 
father. 

As  Mohammed's  daughters  grew  up,  they  were 
given  in  marriage :  Umm  Kulthum  to  her  cousin  on 
the  father's  side,  son  of  Abu  Lahab,  presently  Mo- 
hammed's bitter  enemy ;  Zainab  to  her  cousin  on 
the  mother's  side,  Abu'l-'Asi.  All  this  was  normal 
and  in  order.  Abu'l-'Asi  was  a  brave  man  and 
true,  §  accustomed  to  spend  his  evenings  in  Moham- 
med's house.]  This  marriage  was  one  of  affection, 
which  Islam  could  not  change.  Zainab  in  after 
times  repeatedly  made  use  of  her  privileges  as  the 
Prophet's  daughter  to  save  the  life  of  her  unbeliev- 
ing husband ;  and  his  faithfulness  to  her  won  him 
warm  encomiums  from  her  father. 

For  the  rest  we  imagine  Mohammed  during  these 


*  JVasa'i,  i.,  132. 
f  Musnad,  iii.,  174. 
X  Ibid.,  vi.,  101. 
§Ibid.,  iv.,  326. 
I  Isabah%  iv.,  223. 


72  Mohammed 

fifteen  years  to  have  been  a  respected  and  undis- 
tinguished tradesman.  The  little  that  we  glean  of 
his  sayings  during  the  period  is  commonplace.  One 
'Arfajah,  son  of  Al-As'ad,  had  lost  his  nose  in  a  pre- 
Islamic  battle,  and  had  one  of  silver  fitted  to  his 
face  ;  as  this  became  foul,  Mohammed  recommended 
him  to  try  one  of  gold.* 

^In  the  case  of  many  of  the  Heroes  of  the  Na- 
tions it  is  possible  to  point  to  the  occasion  which 
first  led  them  to  play  their  heroic  part ;  a  crisis  called 
and  they  responded.  In  Mohammed's  case  it  is 
impossible  to  indicate  any  such  event.  For  many 
years  he  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  respectable  citizen, 
an  undistinguished  tradesman ;  at  the  age  of  forty 
we  find  him  the  nucleus  of  a  secret  society,  aiming 
at  reconstruction  of  the  entire  social  fabric.  At  the 
age  of  forty,  it  is  asserted,  a  Meccan  citizen  had 
access  to  the  Council  Chamber ;  and  there  may  be 
some  truth  in  this  statement,  though  only  a  vague 
interpretation  can  be  given  it,  since  there  were  no 
registers  at  Meccah,  and  when  the  Prophet  died,  it 
was  uncertain  whether  he  was  sixty-three  or  sixty- 
five.  Supposing  him  to  have  been  harbouring  his 
scheme  of  reform  for  years,  he  may  have  waited  first 
till  he  could  gauge  the  possibilities  of  the  Council 
Chamber  for  launching  it.  If  the  Council  Chamber 
resembled  any  other  debating  body,  the  Prophet 
would  have  had  little  chance  of  succeeding  there; 
for  he  was  not  a  ready  debater,  and  when  he  became 
a  religious  controversialist,  he  received  divine  orders 
to   avoid   public  disputation.     Still  it  was   in   Mo- 

*  Musnad,  v.,  23,  etc. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  73 

hammed's  character  to  try  easy  and  normal  methods 
before  he  attempted  abnormal  and  difficult  ones, 
and  there  may  be  some  connection  between  the 
facts  of  the  fortieth  year  being  the  time  for  the 
acquisition  of  the  franchise  and  the  period  of  Mo- 
hammed's life  at  which  his  mission  commenced. 
And  since  it  was  his  custom  only  to  launch  his 
schemes  when  they  were  mature,  the  part  which 
he  was  to  play  may  have  been  present  to  his  mind 
for  many  years,  suggested  by  conversations  with 
Jews,  Christians,  and  Parsees ;  shown  to  him  to  be 
imperatively  called  for  by  the  difficulties  and  in- 
justices  which  arose  from  the  need  of  it. 

The  Jews,  the  Christians,  the  Magians,  the  Sabae- 
ans,  had  all  one  thing  which  the  Arabs  had  not : 
a  legislator,  who  had  acted  as  divine  commissioner. 
None  of  the  members  of  these  sects  hesitated  a 
moment  when  asked  what  code  he  followed,  or 
from  whom  it  emanated.  Moses,  Jesus,  Zoroaster, 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  they  would  severally  and  im- 
mediately reply.  But  whom  did  the  worshippers  of 
Hubal,  Al-Lat,  and  Al-'Uzza  follow  ?  No  one  at  all. 
Foreigners  indeed  told  them  that  they  had  Abra- 
ham for  their  father,  but  only  foreigners  knew  any- 
thing about  him  ;  to  the  Meccans  he  was  not  even 
a  name.  Those  who  tried  to  discover  either  an 
Abrahamic  community  or  an  Abrahamic  code  trav- 
ersed the  world  in  vain.  Yet  each  nation  ought  to 
have  a  leader.*  Here  then  was  an  opportunity  for 
a  Prophet. 

In  what  form  the  conviction  comes  to  a  man  of 

*  Surah  xiii.,  8, 


74  Mohammed 

the  existence  of  a  need  which  he  can  or  should  sup- 
ply is  rarely  recorded,  perhaps  not  often  remem- 
bered. Of  the  evils  of  the  tribal  system  and  the 
blood-feud  Mohammed  had  ample  experience ;  and 
visits  to  countries  where  the  whole  population  was 
subject  to  the  law  of  God  may  well  have  convinced 
him  that  the  Arabs  were  backward,  and  that  the 
revelation  of  a  divine  code  was  an  indispensable 
preliminary  of  progress.  Such  a  code  was  associated 
with  the  God  of  the  Jews  and  the  Christians,  but  not 
with  the  Meccan  Allah,  Al-Lat,  and  Al-'Uzza,  though 
it  is  likely  that  these  deities  approved  and  disap- 
proved of  various  acts.  But  the  name  of  the  God 
of  the  Jews  and  Christians  was  identical  with  that 
of  the  god  of  the  Kuraish.  The  inference  that  there 
was  room  for  a  messenger  of  Allah  lay  in  the  pre- 
mises which  the  phenomena  provided  ;  Mohammed's 
greatness  is  to  be  found  in  the  two  facts  of  his 
drawing  the  inference,  and  of  his  ability  to  render 
that  knowledge  effective. 

The  execution  of  this  resolve  closes  this  period  of 
forty  years  or  more  ;  his  soaring  spirit  had  found  the 
outlet  upwards  through  which  it  proceeded  to  make 
its  way.  It  is  more  often  the  seeker  who  finds  than 
one  who  is  not  searching.  When  Starbuck  wished  to 
collect  cases  of  conversion,  he  had  to  go  to  sects  in 
which  it  was  normal,  and  where  men  and  women 
might  expect  to  be  converted.  And  the  conversions 
which  he  studied  were  found  by  him  to  resemble 
cases  in  which  persons  feel  after  an  idea  with  unrest 
and  perplexity  until  the  result  is  finally  presented  to 
clear  consciousness  ready  made. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  75 

"The  unaccomplished  volition  is  doubtless  an  indica- 
tion that  new  nerve-connections  are  budding,  that  a  new- 
channel  of  mental  activity  is  being  opened,  and  in  time 
the  act  of  centring  force  (trying)  in  the  given  direction 
may  through  increased  circulation  and  heightened  nutri- 
tion of  that  point  itself  directly  contribute  to  the  forma- 
tion of  those  nerve-connections  through  which  the  high 
potential  energy  which  corresponds  to  the  new  insight 
expends  itself." 

Into  this  psychological  explanation  we  cannot  in 
the  present  case  follow  him  ;  but  the  evidence  which 
he  has  produced  of  conversion  meaning  the  start- 
ing of  a  fresh  career,  the  bringing  of  the  converted 
individual  into  fresh  connection  with  his  fellows,  is 
very  much  to  the  purpose.  To  the  enlarging  of 
the  breast  and  the  exalting  of  the  name  the  Koran 
adds  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  Normal  cases  of  conver- 
sion bring  out  only  the  last  sensation,  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  ;  the  enlarging  of  the  breast  and  exalting  of 
the  name  are  found  in  cases  where  the  converted 
person  has  abnormal  talents. 

The  idea  of  reproducing  the  role  of  Moses,  Jesus, 
or  Zoroaster  must  not  be  judged  from  the  mod- 
ern standpoint,  whence  those  characters  are  either 
wholly  unhistorical,  or  owe  that  which  is  enviable  in 
their  history  to  myth  and  legend.  To  Mohammed 
the  first  two  (of  the  third  he  may  not  have  heard) 
were  men,  highly  favoured  by  God,  it  is  true,  but 
still  flesh  and  blood,  "  eating  food." 

To  carry  out  in  practice  the  part  of  a  mythical 
hero  was,  as  he  afterwards  found,  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult ;  but  that  his  predecessors  were  mythical  never 


y 


y6  Mohammed 

entered  into  his  mind.  The  idea  that  a  Prophet  was 
expected  in  Arabia,  that  either  Jews  or  Christians 
foretold  the  arrival  of  one,  may  be  dismissed  as  a 
vatichiium  post  eventum ;  so,  too,  when  Islam  had 
conquered  Persia,  it  was  discovered  that  portents  oc- 
curred in  Persia  when  Mohammed  was  born.  The 
Meccans,  as  we  see  them  in  the  Fijar  wars,  or  at  the 
building  of  their  Ka'bah,  appear  by  no  means  deso- 
late at  the  want  of  a  Prophet.  They  enjoyed  their 
life  exceedingly  ;  even  when  the  battle  of  Badr  was 
looming,  they  went  to  the  fight  in  high  spirits,  spend- 
ing lavishly ;  wine  and  music  were  at  their  feasts. 
And  the  best  proof  that  they  enjoyed  life  is  to  be 
found  in  the  good  nature  with  which  they  fought. 
They  gladly  displayed  their  courage,  but  bore  no 
ill-will  against  the  foe. 

That  Mohammed  in  the  course  of  his  conversa- 
tions with  Jews  and  Christians  had  become  con- 
vinced of  the  general  truth  of  their  systems  is  fairly 
clear;  or  rather  it  had  not  occurred  to  him  to  doubt 
it.  He  shared  the  general  attitude  of  the  people  of 
Meccah  towards  their  learned  neighbours.  But  these 
conversations  had  further  forced  upon  his  attention 
the  divisions  that  existed,  not  only  between  Jews  and 
Christians — who  each  denied  that  the  other  had  any 
standing  ground — but  also  between  the  Christian 
sects,  which  anathematised  each  other.  It  is  curi- 
ous that  the  founder  of  the  Mormons  similarly  re- 
ceived an  early  impulse  from  his  observation  of  the 
differences  between  the  rival  sects.*  Which  were  in 
the  right,  Jews  or  Christians,  and  if  the  latter,  which 

*  The  Mormons,  London,  185 i„ 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  Jj 

of  the  sects?  Clearly  a  new  Prophet  was  needed 
to  settle  this  point,  and  Mohammed,  at  Medinah, 
claimed  that  it  was  his  mission  to  put  them  right 
where  they  disagreed.  The  notions,  however,  which 
he  acquired  of  both  Jewish  and  Christian  doctrine 
were,  as  has  been  seen,  those  of  a  superficial,  though 
shrewd,  observer.  If  he  thought  the  Christians  wor- 
shipped a  goddess  and  two  gods,  that  was  the  prac- 
tical as  opposed  to  the  theoretical  character  of  all 
but  Nestorian  Christianity  in  the  East.*  Nor  could 
he  fail  to  observe  that  the  Christians  were  more  lax 
in  the  matter  of  food  than  the  Jews.  With  each 
community  he  sympathised  in  one  point  or  another; 
to  have  joined  either  of  the  communities  and  to 
have  become  a  missionary  for  either  would  have 
been  a  serious  mistake,  and  utterly  unsuited  to  Mo- 
hammed's plans.  Christianity  could  not  be  disso- 
ciated from  subjection  to  the  suzerainty  of  Byzan- 
tium ;  and  Mohammed  was  far  too  great  a  patriot  to 
contemplate  the  introduction  of  a  foreign  yoke.  A 
convert  to  an  old  established  religion,  he  could  not 
have  pretended  to  such  knowledge  of  it  as  older 
members  possessed ;  and  even  appointed  head  of  a 
new  congregation,  he  would  have  been  compelled  to 
affiliate  it  to  some  existing  branch.  It  is  certain 
that  a  fundamental  dogma  of  his  system  was  the 
personal  ore  that  he  was  God's  Prophet ;  agreement 
on  other  points  presently  became  useless,  if  that 
were  not  conceded. 

Hence  it  would  appear  that  Mohammed  regarded 
these  systems  chiefly  as  systems  founded  respectively 

*  J.  M.  Robertson,  A  Short  History  of  Christianity,  1902,  p.  184. 


yS  Mohammed 

by  Moses  and  Jesus — a  point  of  view  from  which 
they  are  not  ordinarily  regarded,  since  men  think 
rather  in  each  case  of  the  code  than  of  the  authority 
for  it.  Whoso  honours  not  himself  shall  not  be 
honoured,  Zuhair  sings :  the  ambitious  Christian 
or  Jew  hopes  to  be  a  bishop,  perhaps,  or  a  rabbi, 
but  regards  the  founders  of  the  systems  as  beyond 
all  possibility  of  competition.  But  thoughts  are  not 
impracticable  because  they  are  bold,  and  this  Arab 
conceived  the  idea  which  a  proselyte's  notion  of 
Judaism  or  Christianity  would  have  rendered  be- 
yond his  reach.  To  the  proselyte  both  figures 
would  have  seemed  simply  inaccessible,  placed  on 
pinnacles  beyond  climbing.  To  the  cool-headed 
student  of  human  nature  they  were  men,  and  what 
they  had  done  he  could  do. 

It  is  likely,  we  might  say  certain,  that  Mohammed's 
notion  of  a  Prophet  underwent  some  growth  in  the 
course  of  his  career ;  we  can  even  trace  the  steps  by 
which  the  mission  was  extended  from  Meccah  to  the 
world ;  and  before  Mohammed  reached  Medinah  he 
may  not  have  been  quite  familiar  with  the  Hebrew 
word  for  prophet.  But  there  were  certain  notions 
connected  with  the  office  which  were  in  his  mind  from 
first  to  last.  A  messenger  of  God  was  quite  certain 
to  be  successful.  The  messengers,  he  was  to  learn, 
were  harassed  by  opposition  and  unbelief,  but  they 
succeeded  in  time.  The  notion  that  Jesus  was  cruci- 
fied was  repugnant  to  his  system,  he  was  convinced 
that  the  truth  was  with  the  Julianists  who  held  that 
the  traitor  Judas  had  been  crucified  :  the  true  Prophet 
was  naturally  and  certainly  victorious.     Of  the  whole 


it 

O   i 

I-   ^ 
«>    <, 

*  I 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  79 

number,  from    Abraham  to  Mohammed,   this   held 
good. 

Belief  therefore  in  himself  was  the  dogma  which 
he  taught  himself  first,  and  afterwards  taught  others. 
Of  strong  convictions  on  other  subjects  we  cannot  be 
so  sure ;  and  in  any  case,  of  the  charge  of  fanatic- 
ism, brought  against  him  by  several  writers,  he  can 
easily  be  cleared.  Reasons  of  policy  and  reasons  of 
humanity  were  sufficient  to  make  him  modify  or  at 
times  even  abandon  each  one  of  the  doctrines  and 
practices  on  which  he  set  the  greatest  store.  To 
these  voices  the  ears  of  fanatics  are  closed,  but  his 
were  invariably  open.  Of  exaggeration,  whether  in 
religious  exercises  or  in  liberality,  he  always  had  a 
horror :  beneath  the  mask  of  the  enthusiast  there 
was  the  soundest  and  sanest  common-sense.  Though 
he  railed  against  idolatry,  he  clearly  had  not  that 
physical  repugnance  to  it  which  men  have  often  had : 
otherwise  the  Kissing  of  the  Black  Stone  would  not 
have  been  a  ceremony  for  which  he  yearned  when 
deprived  of  it,  and  which  he  permanently  retained. 
His  physical  repugnance  seems  to  have  been  not  to 
fetishes  but  to  representations,  which,  according  to 
some  anecdotes  that  are  recorded,  he  found  worrying 
and  distracting.  His  identification  of  the  god  Al- 
lah with  the  God  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  was  in 
a  manner  accidental ;  it  is  precisely  parallel  to  St. 
Paul's  endeavour  to  make  the  "  Unknown  God " 
paramount  at  Athens  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the 
other  deities.  But  the  Jewish  and  Christian  records 
narrated  how  their  Allah  had  despatched  messengers, 
and  such  a  messenger  he  might  be.     The  message 


80  Mohammed 

was  in  many  cases  subordinate  to  the  dignity  of  the 
office,  just  as  we  think  of  a  king's  ambassador  as  a 
high  official,  rather  than  as  the  bearer  of  a  definite 
message.  For  the  contents  of  the  message  he  had 
to  go  back  to  Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures,  until 
the  course  of  events  provided  him  with  plenty  to 
say. 

Why  and  how  the  idea  of  playing  that  part  should 
have  come  into  the  mind  of  this  particular  Arab,  or 
in  the  case  of  this  particular  Arab  have  found  a 
man  with  the  patience  and  resolution  and  inge- 
nuity to  make  it  a  success — about  that  we  cannot 
even  hazard  a  conjecture.  As  Carlyle  says,  from 
the  time  of  Tubal  Cain  there  had  been  iron  and 
boiling  water ;  but  through  all  these  millennia  no 
one  invented  the  steam-engine.  Either  men  wanted 
the  ingenuity  to  see  the  possibilities  of  things,  or 
they  wanted  the  patience  to  make  their  discover- 
ies fruitful.  The  daughter  of  Abu  Jahl,  one  of  Mo- 
hammed's chief  opponents,  declared  that  her  father 
might  have  been  Prophet  had  he  chosen,  but  was 
unwilling  to  create  sedition.*  Prophets  indeed 
had  arisen  in  Arabia  before  Mohammed  :  in  Yemen 
among  the  Himyarites  one  Samaifa  had  imitated  the 
exploit  of  old  Zamolxis :  had  hidden  himself  for  a 
time  and  then  re-appeared,  when  one  hundred  thou- 
sand men  prostrated  themselves  before  their  risen 
lord.f  Legends  containing  probably  some  germ  of 
truth  recorded  how  shortly  before  Mohammed  one 
Khalid,  son  of  Sinan,  had  been  sent  to  preach  to  the 

*Azraki,  192;    Wakidi  (IV.),  343. 
f  Isabah,  i.,  1003. 


Early  Life  of  Mohammed  81 

tribe  of  'Abs,  and  one  Hanzalah,  son  of  Safwan, 
to  some  other  of  the  inhabitants  of  Arabia.  In 
Yemamah,  too,  one  Maslamah  had  given  a  sign  that 
he  was  sent  from  God :  through  the  narrow  neck  of 
a  bottle  he  introduced  an  egg  unbroken  to  the  bowl.* 
Since  Yemamah  supplied  Meccah  with  corn,  the 
tradition  that  makes  Mohammed  a  pupil  of  Maslamah 
has  certainly  some  foundation.  But  Mohammed 
had  far  more  to  teach  Maslamah  than  to  learn  from 
him.  Maslamah's  aspirations  scarcely  rose  above 
those  of  a  conjurer ;  his  pupil,  far  less  able  to  mystify, 
saw  how  a  Prophet  could  become  the  head  of  a 
state. 

When  the  plan  had  become  an  assured  success, 
others  were  inclined  to  try  it  for  their  own  benefit. 
To  Mohammed  their  claims  did  not  seem  to  merit  a 
moment's  consideration,  he  treated  them  as  the 
people  of  Meccah  had  at  first  treated  him.  The 
wish  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets, 
probably  never  felt  by  any  who  uttered  it,  was  not 
even  expressed  by  him.  If  men  failed  to  agree  with 
his  second  dogma,  his  own  apostleship,  he  devised 
ingenious  reasons  for  showing  that  they  disagreed 
with  him  concerning  the  first  dogma,  the  Unity  of 
God.  Hence  we  are  justified  in  supposing  that  the 
second  was  the  dogma  to  which  he  attached  the 
greater  importance.  And  if  a  Prophet  was  not  a 
subject  charged  with  painful  duties,  but  a  sovereign 
privileged  with  extraordinary  rights,   the  unity  of 

*  That  Maslamah  had   taken  the   title  Rahman  before  Moham- 
med left  Meccah  is  attested  by  Wakidi  ( W.\  58  ;  see  also  J.  R. 
A,  S.,  1903. 
6 


82  Mohammed 

God's  Prophet  was  no  less  certain  than  the  unity 
of  God.  The  sayings  that  are  recorded  of  the 
Prophet  show  that  he  never  compromised  that  high 
dignity  by  any  of  the  humility,  genuine  or  affected, 
which  meets  us  in  the  speeches  of  those  who 
preached  a  doctrine  without  political  ambitions.  In 
dicta  which  are  ascribed  to  him  he  declared  himself 
to  be  the  best  in  character  and  the  most  perfect  in 
beauty  among  mankind.  His  was  the  most  noble 
pedigree,*  consisting  entirely  of  well-born  men  and 
chaste  women.  He  was  the  most  eloquent  of  all 
who  had  pronounced  the  characteristic  Arabic 
letter  dad.  In  the  Koran  he  repeatedly  points  out 
what  a  privilege  his  presence  is,  and  how  he  is  a 
proof  or  embodiment  of  God's  mercy  to  the  world. 
If  ever  he  spoke  of  himself  in  a  less  exalted  strain,  it 
was  when  some  reverse,  the  blame  for  which  he  re- 
fused to  accept,  compelled  him  to  tell  his  followers 
that  they  had  expected  too  much.  Hence  we  are 
driven  to  the  assumption  that  however  many  mo- 
tives may  have  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  role  of 
Prophet,  the  desire  for  personal  distinction,  which  the 
Koran  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Noah's  adversaries,f 
— or  let  us  rather  say  for  a  place  in  the  community 
whence  he  could  enforce  his  ideas  on  the  rest, — was 
one  of  them  ;  and  we  shall  more  easily  be  able  to  ap- 
preciate and  admire  the  skill  with  which  he  piloted 
his  way,  if  we  keep  clearly  in  our  minds  the  destina- 
tion for  which  he  was  steering. 

*Musnad,  iv.,  107,  166. 
f  Surah  xxiii.,  24. 


CHAPTER     III 

ISLAM  AS  A   SECRET  SOCIETY 


IN  his  thirty-ninth  year  Mohammed  became  ac- 
quainted or  became  intimate  with  Abu  Bakr, 
son  of  Abu  Kuhafah,  a  cloth  merchant,  Mo- 
hammed's junior  by  two  years.  He  possessed  some 
business  ability,  whereby  he  had  acquired  a  consid- 
erable fortune,  and,  his  father  being  blind,  was  the 
head  of  the  household.  He  was  a  man  of  a  kindly 
and  complaisant  disposition,  of  charming  manners 
and  ready  wit,  though  of  an  occasionally  obscene 
tongue,  and  his  company  was  much  sought  after. 
Since  the  Meccan  tribes,  like  other  Arabs,  habitually 
gathered  in  circles  at  evening  time,  and  some 
ladies*  held  salons  in  the  courts  of  their  houses, 
there  was  at  Meccah  every  opportunity  of  convers- 
ing. Abu  Bakr  was  a  hero  worshipper,  if  ever  there 
was  one;  he  possessed  a  quality  common  in  women, 
but  sometimes  present  in  men,  i.e.,  readiness  to  fol- 
low the  fortunes  of  some  one  else  with  complete  and 
blind  devotion,  never  questioning  nor  looking  back ; 
to  have  believed  much  was  with  him  a  reason  for 


*  Azraki,  467. 


S3 


84  Mohammed 

believing  more.  Mohammed,  a  shrewd  judge  of 
men,  perceived  this  quality  and  used  it. 

A  year  after  their  intimacy  had  begun,  Mo- 
hammed's call  came,  and  the  proselytising  was  then 
done  not  by  Mohammed,  but  by  Abu  Bakr. 
Whether  Mohammed  had  sounded  any  one  before, 
to  find  out  the  possibility  of  winning  disciples,  is 
not  known ;  what  is  certain  is  that  in  this  person 
Mohammed  discovered  a  man  capable  of  believing 
that  one  of  his  fellow-citizens  had  a  message  from 
God,  which  it  was  incumbent  on  him  to  receive  and 
promote.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  invite  men  to 
recognise  the  claims  of  another  than  of  oneself  that 
in  the  later  history  of  Islam  we  find  those  Mahdis 
most  successful  who  could  keep  hidden  while  some 
follower  proclaimed  their  advent.  But  these  were 
ordinarily  cases  of  collusion,  where  each  party 
anticipated  some  definite  advantage  from  such  an 
arrangement :  in  Abu  Bakr's  case  the  notion  of 
acknowledged  collusion  cannot  be  admitted.  Mo- 
hammed used  to  assert  that  if  he  were  to  make  any 
man  his  confidant  (khalil)  he  would  make  Abu  Bakr, 
but  that  he  had  not  made  a  confidant  of  any  one. 
Abu  Bakr,  though  an  invaluable  assistant,  was  not  an 
accomplice.  He  never  forgot  the  distance  between 
his  master  and  himself. 

When  a  man  professes  to  produce  messages  from 
another  world,  he  has  to  make  both  their  form  and 
their  manner  correspond  in  some  way  with  super- 
natural origin.  The  problem  before  the  medium 
is  to  produce  a  message  without  appearing  to  furnish 
it  himself ;  and  Mohammed  had  to  solve  that  prob- 


Islam  as  a  Seer  el  Sociely  8  5 

lem  no  less  than  a  modern  medium.  When  revela- 
tions came  to  him  in  public  he  seems  instinctively  * 
(or,  perhaps,  after  the  example  of  the  Kahins)  to 
have  adopted  a  process  common  to  the  prophets  of 
all  ages  ;  just  as  to  the  Sibyl : 

"  talia  fanti 
Ante  fores  subito  non  voltus,  non  color  unus, 
Non  comptae  mansere  comae;  sed  pectus  anhelum, 
Et  rabie  fera  corda  tument:  majorque  videri 
Nee  mortale  sonans,  adflata  est  numine  quando 
Jam  propiore  dei," 

so  Mohammed  would  fall  into  a  violent  state  of  agita- 
tion, his  face  would  turn  livid,  f  and  he  would  cover 
himself  with  a  blanket,  from  which  he  would  after- 
wards emerge  perspiring  copiously,  %  with  a  message 
ready.  At  some  period  or  other  the  articulate  mes- 
sage seems  to  have  been  preceded  by  an  inarticulate 
one,  letters  of  the  alphabet  forming  no  words — curi- 
ously resembling  the  initial  movements  of  a  plan- 
chette.  §  We  have  already  seen  reason  for  believing 
that  Mohammed  at  some  time  had  epileptic  fits; 
whence  the  phenomena  accompanying  such  a  fit  may 


♦One  of  the  chief  authorities  for  traditions  of  the  Prophet  used 
at  times  to  introduce  his  recollections  of  the  Prophet's  utterances  with 
a  similar  performance.      Tabari,  Comm.,  xii.,  9. 

f  Tabari,  Comm.,  xxviii.,  4. 

\Bouveret,  Les  sueurs  Morbides  (Paris,  1880),  says  :  "  Adamkie- 
wicz  has  shown  that  perspiration  can  be  provoked  by  artificial  or 
voluntary  incitation  of  the  muscles  and  their  nerves." 

§  Noldekes  ingenious  explanation  of  the  mystic  letters  as  signatures 
of  MSS.  is  abandoned  by  him  in  his  Sketches  for  a  theory  resembling 
the  above. 


86  Mohammed 

have  suggested  a  form  which  could  afterwards  be 
artificially  reproduced.  The  process  described,  at 
times  accompanied  by  snoring  and  reddening  of  the 
face,*  presently  came  to  be  recognised  as  the  normal 
form  of  inspiration,  and  could  be  produced  without 
the  slightest  preparation  ;  the  Prophet  would  receive 
a  divine  communication  in  immediate  answer  to  a 
question  addressed  him  while  he  was  eating ;  and 
would,  after  delivering  it  in  this  fashion,  proceed  to 
finish  the  morsel  which  he  held  in  his  hand  when  he 
was  interrupted  f ;  or  a  revelation  would  come  in 
answer  to  a  question  addressed  him  as  he  stood  in 
the  pulpit.  %  In  revelations  which  appear  to  be  very 
early  Mohammed  is  addressed  as  "  the  man  in  the 
blanket,"  or  "  the  man  who  is  wrapped  up."  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  occasion  for  this  process,  the 
Prophet  appears  to  have  retained  it  from  first  to  last. 
The  other  questions  which  the  medium  must  solve 
roncern  the  matter  of  the  revelation.  Once  the  head 
of  a  state  Mohammed  had  plenty  to  say  ;  but  at  the 
commencement  of  his  career,  the  matter  was  not 
provided  by  the  circumstances.  Mediums  who  are 
similarly  placed  as  a  rule  hit  on  the  same  plan. 
They  put  into  God's  mouth  sayings  which  are  gen- 
erally acknowledged  to  be  His — i.  e.y  verses  of  the 
Old  or  New  Testament.  These  being  recognised 
as  God's  Word,  no  one  is  compromised  by  their 
iteration.      When    Mohammed,    forced   by   circum- 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  222.  Bouveret,  p.  47  :  "La  peau  put  rougir  simuL 
tantment"  when  perspiration  is  the  result  of  a  violent  emotion, 
f  Musnad ',  vi.,  56. 
\Ibid.%  iii.,  21. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  87 

stances  to  produce  revelations  in  increasing  quan- 
tities, followed  this  safe  method,  he  could  declare 
that  it  was  a  miracle  by  which  he  was  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  contents  of  books  which  he  had 
never  read.  When  his  style  as  a  preacher  had  justly 
won  him  the  applause  of  large  audiences,  he  could 
change  his  ground  somewhat  and  declare  that  the 
miracle  lay  in  his  unrivalled  eloquence. 

This  however  is  to  anticipate.  The  earliest  scraps 
of  revelation,  which  were  communicated  to  Abu 
Bakr,  appear  to  have  been  imitations  of  the  utter- 
ances of  revivalist  preachers,  whom  Mohammed  had 
heard  on  his  travels.  There  is  (as  we  have  seen) 
a  tradition  that  he  had  heard  sermons  from  "  the 
most  eloquent  of  the  Arabs,"  Kuss,  son  of  Sa'idah, 
who  bade  men  remember  the  transitoriness  of  life, 
and  infer  the  existence  of  the  Creator  from  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  world.  The  subjects  on  which  these 
preachers  dwelt  were  ^^ibtless  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment, the  pains  of  hell  fire,  and  the  necessity  of 
worshipping  Allah  rather  than  the  idols ;  these  be- 
ing the  ordinary  themes  of  Christian  revivalists. 
Experience,  moreover,  shows  that  warnings  of  the 
approaching  end  of  the  world  readily  find  a  hear- 
ing.* Those  who  describe  the  first  discourses  of 
the  Prophet  speak  of  them  as  warning  the  Meccans 
of  the  divine  punishment:  the  speaker  comparing 
himself  to  one  who  gives  the  alarm  when  the  enemy 
is  raiding,  f  As  we  shall  presently  see,  this  doctrine 
is  not  really  to  be  dissociated  from  that  of  resurrec- 


*  History  of  the  Mormons,  London,  1851. 

t  "  I  am  the  naked  alarm-giver,"  Alif-Bd,  i.,  133. 


88  Mohammed 

tion ;  and  the  distinctive  features  of  Mohammed's 
teaching,  as  opposed  to  the  ideas  of  paganism,  were 
from  first  to  last  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  and  of 
the  unity  of  God.  Arabian  oratory  seems  to  have 
been  in  some  sort  of  rhyme,  and  this  Mohammed 
imitated  though  he  little  understood  its  nature. 

Against  the  supposition  that  Mohammed  deliber- 
ately mystified  his  contemporaries,  objection  has 
been  taken  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times  from 
the  uprightness  of  his  character,  which  is  even  said 
to  have  earned  him  the  name  of  "  the  Trusty." 
Hence  the  story  that  he  trained  a  pigeon  to  peck 
grains  from  his  ear  has  called  forth  bitter  indigna- 
tion from  Carlyle  and  others.  And  indeed  the 
Moslem  tradition  does  not  record  any  occasions  on 
which  he  received  revelations  from  pigeons.  Still, 
many  scenes  are  recorded  in  which  he  appears  to 
have  studied  theatrical  effect  of  a  scarcely  less  naive 
kind.  In  an  empty  room  he  professed  to  be  unable 
to  find  sitting-place, — all  the  seats  being  occupied 
by  angels.  He  turned  his  face  away  modestly  from 
a  corpse,  out  of  regard  for  two  Houris  who  had  come 
from  heaven  to  tend  their  husband.  There  is  even 
reason  for  supposing  that  he,  at  times,  let  confeder- 
ates act  the  part  of  Gabriel,  or  let  his  followers  iden- 
tify some  interlocutor  of  his  with  that  angel,*  The 
revelations  which  he  produced  find  a  close  parallel 
in  those  of  modern  mediums,  which  can  be  studied 
in  the  history  of  Spiritualism  by  Mr.  F.  Podmore, 
whose  researches  cast  great  clou^t  on  the  proposition 

*  Ibn  Sotd  II.,  ii.,  52.  One  Harithah  Ibn  Al-Nu'man  declared  he 
had  seen  Gabriel  twice. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  89 

that  an  honourable  man  would  not  mystify  his  fel- 
lows; and  also  make  it  appear  that  the  conviction 
produced  by  the  performances  of  a  medium  is  often 
not  shaken  by  the  clearest  exposure.-  Of  one  of  the 
mediums  whose  career  he  describes,  this  author  ob- 
serves that  he  possessed  the  friendship  and  perfect 
trust  of  his  sitters,  was  aided  by  the  religious  emo- 
tions inspired  by  his  trance  utterances,  and  could 
appeal  to  an  unstained  character  and  a  life  of  honour- 
able activity.  The  possession  of  these  advantages 
greatly  helped  this  medium  in  producing  belief  in 
his  sincerity  ;  but  the  historian  of  Spiritualism,  though 
uncertain  how  to  account  for  all  the  phenomena,  and 
acknowledging  the  difficulties  which  attend  his  ex- 
planation, is  inclined  to  attribute  all  that  is  wonder- 
ful in  the  medium's  performances  to  trickery^  What 
is  clear  is  that  Mohammed  possessed  the  same  ad- 
vantages as  Podmore  enumerates,  and  thereby  won 
adherents  ;  that  nevertheless  the  process  of  revelation 
was  so  suspicious  that  one  of  the  scribes  employed 
to  take  down  the  effusions  became  convinced  that  it 
was  imposture  and  discarded  Islam  in  consequence.* 
But  to  those  who  are  studying  merely  the  political 
effectiveness  of  supernatural  revelations  the  sincerity 
of  the  medium  is  a  question  of  little  consequence. 

We  regard  then  Mohammed's  assumption  of  the 
role  of  medium  as  due  to  the  receptivity  of  Abu 
Bakr.  \     It  was  in  the  Prophet's  character  to  bide 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  121,  etc. 

\  Xoldeke,  Z.  D.  M.  G.t  lii.,  16-21,  makes  the  order  of  converts 
Khadijah,  Zaid,  Ali,  some  slaves,  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu  Wakkas,  and 
Abu  Bakr,  with  other  Kurashites. 


90  Mohammed 

his  time — to  wait,  before  taking  any  step,  till  the 
favourable  moment  had  arrived.  But  such  a  new 
role  cannot  be  taken  up  quite  suddenly — there  must 
be  some  period  of  transition  between  the  old  life 
and  the  new.  Most  mediums  have  for  such  trans- 
ition a  period  of  solitude.  Thus  Joseph  Smith, 
founder  of  the  Mormon  sect,  wandered  into  a  wood, 
and  there,  under  the  guidance  of  angels,  unearthed 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  Seer  of  Poughkeepsie, 
in  March,  1844,  "wandered  into  the  country  under 
the  guidance  of  his  inward  monitor,  and  fell  into  a 
spontaneous  trance,  during  which  Galen  and  Swe- 
denborg  appeared  to  him  in  a  churchyard,  and 
instructed  him  concerning  his  message  to  mankind." 
His  work,  The  Principles  of  Nature,  afterwards 
delivered  by  him  in  trance,  if  not  quite  so  success- 
ful as  the  Koran,  nevertheless  went  through  thirty- 
four  editions  in  thirty  years,  and  is  still  *  quoted  by 
some  as  a  divine  revelation.  Now  that  Mohammed's 
prophetic  career  began  with  a  period  of  solitude 
seems  attested,  though  there  is  some  inconsistency 
between  our  authorities  as  to  the  details.  For  one 
month  of  the  year — and  it  would  appear  the  month 
of  Ramadan,  afterwards  stereotyped  as  the  Fasting 
Month  of  Islam — the  Meccans  practised  a  rite  called 
tahannuth,  of  which  the  exact  meaning  is  indeed 
unknown,  but  which  apparently  was  some  sort  of 
asceticism.  During  this  month  it  was  Mohammed's 
custom  to  retire  to  a  cave  in  Mt.  Hira,  some  three 
miles  from  Meccah  in  the  direction  of  Ta'if.  He 
would  appear  to  have  taken  his  family  with  him: 

*  Contemporary  Rev.%  Oct.,  1903. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  91 

yet  probably  their  daily  worship  of  Al-Lat  or  Al- 
'Uzza  *  would  not  be  carried  on  at  such  a  time. 
Moreover,  a  month  devoted  to  ascetic  observance 
was  one  specially  suited  for  aspirations  towards  a 
more  spiritual  form  of  religion  than  the  ordinary 
paganism.  At  some  time  then  in  this  month,  when 
he  had  descended  by  himself  to  the  midst  of  the 
valley,  occurred  the  theophany  (or  its  equivalent) 
which  led  to  Mohammed's  starting  as  a  divine 
messenger. 

The  idea  of  Joseph  Smith  was  to  communicate  to 
the  world  the  contents  of  certain  hidden  tablets  only 
accessible  to  himself,  and  in  a  language  which  he 
only  could  translate  "  by  the  grace  of  God."  Mo- 
hammed's was  very  similar ;  he  was  empowered  (or, 
according  to  one  account,  forced)  to  read  matter 
contained  in  a  well-guarded  tablet — he  having  pre- 
viously been  unable  to  read  or  write.  To  the 
miracle  whereby  he  was  enabled  to  read  without 
having  learned — which  may  have  been  suggested  by 
narratives  current  about  other  prophets — he  alludes,t 
but  he  does  not  insist  on  it.  His  idea  of  being 
permitted  only  occasionally  to  get  access  to  the 
guarded  tablet  was  a  better  one  than  Smith's,  be- 
cause it  enabled  him  to  legislate  as  occasion  de- 
manded. In  the  traditions  which  bear  on  this 
subject  the  communication  is  done  by  Gabriel,  the 
angel  who  in  the  New  Testament  conveys  messages ; 
but  in  the  theophany  recorded  in  the  Koran,  it 
appears  to  be  God  Himself  who  descended,  and  at  a 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  222. 
\  Surah  xxix.,  47. 


92  Mohammed 

distance  of  rather  less  than  two  bowshots  *  addressed 
the  Prophet,  and  on  a  second  occasion  was  seen  by 
him  "  at  the  lotus  of  the  extreme  end,  where  is  the 
garden  of  lodging."  The  substitution  afterwards  of 
Gabriel  is  probably  due  to  the  development  of  the 
Prophet's  theology. 

More  than  a  shadowy  outline  of  this  commence- 
ment of  revelation  will  never  be  known.  The 
earliest  account  makes  the  Prophet  so  much  alarmed 
by  his  experience,  and  so  afraid  of  becoming  a  Kahin 
or  a  poet,  that  he  all  but  commits  suicide  ;  Khadijah, 
finding  him,  comforts  him  with  the  assurance  that  he 
is  going  to  be  the  national  nabl  (Prophet) — a  word 
which  she  can  scarcely  have  known ;  and  consults 
her  learned  relative  Warakah,  son  of  Naufal,  who  is 
equally  encouraging.  His  words  are  given  as, 
"  Kaddosh,  Kaddosh,  this  is  the  Greater  Nomos." 
The  first  two  words  are  Hebrew,  and  mean  "  Holy, 
Holy !  "  The  last  is  Greek  for  "  Law."  The  curious 
and  hybrid  nature  of  the  expressions  makes  it  pos- 
sible that  there  may  be  some  truth  in  this  story  ;  but 
that  the  exclamation  did  not  suit  the  occasion  on 
which  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  uttered  is  implied 
by  the  commentators,  who  make  the  "  Law  "  mean 
King's  messenger,  and  apply  it  to  Gabriel.  Another 
account  made  Khadijah  consult  not  Warakah,  but 
a  Christian  slave,  who  recognised  the  name  Gabriel. 
Warakah  figures  no  further  in  the  narrative,  f  and  it 
would  be  rash  to  assert  that  the  interview  between 


*  The  original  is  obscure. 

fin  Usd  al-ghabah,  i. ,  207,  he  is  said  to  have  witnessed  the  torture 
of  one  of  Mohammed's  followers. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  93 

him  and  Khadijah  was  historical;  it  was  known  that 
a  relative  of  Khadijah  was  enlightened,  and  the 
legend  could  scarcely  do  less  than  make  him 
acknowledge  her  husband's  mission.  Nor  do  we 
assign  any  historical  value  to  the  tradition  that 
Mohammed  dreamed  he  saw  Warakah  after  his 
death  in  white  raiment,  signifying  a  place  in  Para- 
dise. *  But  that  Khadijah  may  have  been  prepared 
by  her  cousin's  speculations  and  studies  for  a  revolt 
from  the  Meccan  religion  is  not  improbable.  In 
Khadijah's  case  moreover  we  might  expect  a  priori 
that  maternal  grief  over  her  dead  sons  would  enter 
into  the  process  of  conversion,  and  this  is  confirmed 
by  a  story  told  in  the  memoirs  of  Ali.  ff\ If  idolators 
went  to  hell,  she  asked  her  husband,  were  her 
parents  in  hell  ?  Mohammed  replied  that  they  were, 
and,  seeirfg  that  she  looked  pained,  assured  her  that 
if  she  could  see  them  with  their  true  nature  revealed, 
she  would  detest  them  too.  Next  she  asked  were 
their  dead  children  in  hell  also?  To  this  question 
the  Prophet  in  reply  produced  a  revelation  :  u  And 
whoso  believe  and  are  followed  by  their  seed  in 
faith,  unto  them  shall  we  attach  their  seedjj  A 
brilliant  answer ;  since  thereby  the  bereaved  mother 
was  assured  that  the  eternal  happiness  of  her  dead 
sons  was  made  conditional  on  her  believing;  the 
chance  being  thus  given  her  not  only  of  recovering 
them,  but  of  giving  them  access  to  the  Garden  of 
Delight.     No  wonder  that  Khadijah  devoted  herself 

*  Musnad,  vi.,  68. 
\Ibid.%  i.,  135. 
\  Surah  lii.f  21. 


94  Mohammed 

heart  and  soul  to  the  mission,  and  received  a  promise 
of  a  very  special  place  in  Paradise.* 

It  is  clear  that  some  of  the  ordinances  of  Islam 
must  have  commenced  from  the  moment  that  the 
revelations  were  communicated  to  Abu  Bakr  and 
Khadijah.  For  it  is  by  no  means  sufficient  to  warn 
people  of  the  terrors  of  the  Day  of  Judgment ;  some 
answer  must  be  given  to  the  question,  What  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved  ?  And  that  answer,  in  order  that 
it  may  satisfy,  must  involve  certain  injunctions. 
There  appear  to  have  been  commands  to  wash  the 
clothes,  and  to  avoid  the  idols.  The  first  of  these 
was  an  easy  symbolical  act — with  many  races  the 
clothes  are  all  but  identical  with  the  wearer,  f  The 
second  was  difficult  in  a  community  where  people  saw 
much  of  each  other ;  from  stories  which  shall  be 
mentioned  we  gather  that  worship  of  idols  was  a 
familiar  feature  of  every-day  life.  Abandonment  of 
idolatry  could  not  easily  be  concealed  from  the 
household  ;  hence  the  secret  of  the  Prophet's  mission 
had  to  be  revealed  almost  at  the  first  to  the  two 
lads  who  were  about  Khadijah's  house,  Zaid,  son  of 
Harithah,  the  adopted  son,  and  Ali,  the  Prophet's 
cousin,  son  of  Abu  Talib,  for  whom  Mohammed 
had  undertaken  to  provide,  owing  to  his  uncle  find- 
ing difficulty  in  maintaining  his  numerous  family.^ 
The  latter  was  about  ten  years  of  age ;  the  former 
was  ten  years  the  Prophet's  junior  § — according  to 


*  Musnady  iv.,  356. 

f  Wellkausen,  Reste,  196. 

\Noldeke,  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  lii.,  19,  regards  this  as  a  fiction. 

%Jbn  Sa'd,  in.,  30. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  95 

the  most  likely  account — but,  as  we  shall  have  oc- 
casion to  see,  entirely  subject  to  the  Prophet's 
authority. 

It  is  stated  that  the  revelations  ceased  for  a  time 
after  they  had  begun — a  phenomenon  which  may  be 
compared  with  the  fact  made  out  by  Starbuck  in  the 
cases  of  conversion  which  he  studied :  complete  re- 
lapses, he  shows,  are  few,  but  periods  of  inactivity 
and  indifference  numerous.  Khadijah  is  credited 
with  having  consoled  the  Prophet  during  the  tem- 
porary suspense  of  the  divine  visitations;  which 
perhaps  we  may  interpret  as  meaning  that  the  strong- 
minded  woman  who  kept  him  faithful  during  the 
years  in  which  his  master-passion  must  have  been 
strongest  compelled  him  to  adhere  to  the  line  which 
he  had  taken.  But  indeed  he  was  compelled  to  con- 
tinue by  Abu  Bakr,  who  immediately  started  pro- 
selytising. Doubtless  at  the  Prophet's  desire  the 
mission  was  conducted  with  profound  secrecy.  Abu 
Bakr  communicated  nothing  save  to  persons  in  whom 
he  had  confidence ;  and  on  whom  he  was  able  to  ob- 
tain some  leverage.  But  neither  he  nor  the  Prophet 
were  impatient,  and  they  were  satisfied  if  the  first 
year  of  Abu  Bakr's  propaganda  produced  three  con- 
verts.* There  is  strong  reason  for  thinking  that  he 
was  helped  from  the  first  by  an  Abyssinian  slave, 
Bilal,  of  whose  antecedents  we  should  gladly  know 
more ;  for  Omar  declared  that  Bilal  was  a  third  part 
of  Islam  f ;  and,  lest  we  should  mistake  the  meaning 
of  the  phrase,  a  later  follower  used  to  call  himself 

*  Isaiah,  ii.,  162. 

f  Jahiz,  Opuscula,  58. 


96  Mohammed 

the  quarter  of  Islam,  *  because,  when  he  visited  Mo- 
hammed at  'Ukaz,  he  found  him  followed  as  yet  by 
one  freeman,  Abu  Bakr,  and  one  slave,  Bilal.  The 
tradition  clearly  does  not  know  for  certain  whose 
slave  he  was.  In  want  of  better  information  we  are 
inclined  to  attribute  to  him  some  of  the  Abyssinian 
elements  in  the  Prophet's  productions.f  He  was 
after  a  time  purchased  and  manumitted  by  Abu 
Bakr. 

How  Abu  Bakr  proceeded  is  not  recorded  in  many 
cases.  There  is,  however,  one  anecdote  which  is 
likely  to  be  true  and  characteristic.  Othman,  son  of 
'Affan,  six  years  the  Prophet's  junior,  was  a  cloth 
merchant,  having  for  partner  a  cousin  of  Mo- 
hammed ^;jTie  also  did  some  business  as  a  money- 
lender, advancing  sums  for  enterprises  of  which  he 
was  to  enjoy  half  the  profits, §  and  in  money  matters 
showed  remarkable  acuteness.J  His  sister  was  a 
milliner,  married  to  a  barber,!  and  he  himself 
was  unusually  handsome,  fond  of  personal  adorn- 
ment, and  dignified ;  Mohammed  even  did  not 
venture  to  appear  in  deshabille  before  him,**  or 
allow  slave-girls  to  beat  drums  in  his  presencejf 
He  was  no  fighting  man,  as  his  subsequent  history 
proved,  for  he  shirked  one  battle-field,  ran  away  from 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  385. 

f  Enumerated  by  Wellhausen,  Reste,  232. 

%Isabah,  i.,  1036. 

§  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  ill. 

I  Wakidi  ( W.\  231. 

^Isabah,  i.,  714. 

**  Muslim,  ii.,  234. 

\\  Afusnad,  iv.,  353. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  97 

another,  and  was  killed,  priest-like,  ostentatiously 
reading  the  Koran.  He  loved  Mohammed's  fair 
daughter,  Rukayyah,  and  learned  to  his  chagrin 
that  she  had  been  betrothed  to  another.  Hearing 
the  sad  news  he  came  to  pour  his  grief  into  Abu 
Bakr's  friendly  ears.  Abu  Bakr  in  reply  asked  him 
whether  he  did  not  think  the  Meccan  gods  stocks 
and  stones  ? — a  question  of  doubtful  appropriateness, 
it  might  seem,  unless  their  services  had  been  called  in 
by  the  lover ;  but  a  conversation  followed,  whence 
Othman  inferred  that  if  he  chose  to  declare  the 
Meccan  gods  worthy  of  contempt  and  acknowledge 
that  Mohammed  had  a  mission  to  suppress  them, 
Mohammed's  daughter  might  still  be  his.  Mo* 
hammed  presently  passed  by^  Abu  Bakr  whispered 
something  into  his  ear  and  the  affair  was  arranged. 
Othman  became  a  believer  and  Rukayyah  became 
his  wife. 

In  this  case  the  process  of  conversion  is  laid 
bare,  and  offers  no  further  difficulty  to  the  reader. 
In  each  of  the  other  cases  the  shrewd  missionary 
must  have  seen  his  opening,  though  we  do  not  often 
know  what  it  was.  Abu  Bakr  probably  was  aware 
that  women  are  more  amenable  to  conversion  than 
men,  resident  foreigners  than  natives,*  slaves  than 
freemen,  persons  in  distress  than  persons  in  pro- 
sperity and  affluence.  When  Islam  was  found  out, 
the  humble  character  of  many  of  Mohammed's  fol- 
lowers was  a  stumbling-block  to  the  Meccan  aristo- 
crats, who  requested  him  to  send  away  this  scum 
before   they   would   argue  with   him.     Indeed   the 

*  Wellhausen,  Reste%  221. 


98  Mohammed 

Koran  acknowledges  so  distinctly  that  the  followers 
of  the  Prophet  were  the  lowest  of  the  people  *  that 
grave  doubt  attaches  to  early  traditions  which  con- 
flict with  this  statement.  (The  phraseology  em- 
ployed, "  the  worst  of  us — at  first  sight,"  is  curiously 
lucid.  7  And  later  on,  when  the  aristocrats  had  been 
forced  into  Islam,  they  were  wont  to  reproach  their 
new  brethren  with  their  earlier  condition. f  For  many 
a  man  the  honour  of  being  Abu  Bakr's  first  convert 
was  afterwards  claimed  ;  and  the  length  of  time  in 
which  the  mission  remained  a  secret  rendered  their 
claims  difficult  to  assess.  When  men  were  asked 
what  first  led  them  to  Mohammed  they  were  apt  to 
give  fantastic  answers ;  perhaps  they  had  forgotten 
the  real  motive  or  preferred  to  conceal  it.  Khalid, 
son  of  Sa'id,  the  fourth  or  fifth  convert,  dreamed  that 
his  father  was  pushing  him  into  a  lake  of  fire,  whence 
another  man  saved  him.  He  asked  Abu  Bakr  to  in- 
terpret % ;  Abu  Bakr  took  him  to  Mohammed,  then 
in  retreat  at  Ajyad,  near  Safa  ;  in  whom  the  dreamer 
recognised  his  Saviour,  and  was  converted.  Do  men 
really  dream  thus?  Flammarion  and  Myers  would 
answer  that  they  do.  Abdallah,  son  of  Mas'ud,  a 
client  and  serf,  declared  that  when  feeding  the  herds 
of  'Ukbah,  son  of  Mu'ait  (afterwards  a  prominent 
opponent  of  Mohammed)  in  the  country,  he  had 
been  solicited  for  a  bowl  of  milk  by  Mohammed  and 
Abu  Bakr,  who  were  walking  together  away  from 


*  Surah  xi.,  27. 

\Wahidi,  1 1 8. 

\  Abu  Bakr  regularly  figures  as  dream   interpreter.     Wellhauscn 

KW.)t  14. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  99 

men ;  and  Abdallah  was  converted  by  perceiving 
the  goat's  udder  swell  and  contract  at  the  Prophet's 
pleasure.*  Othman,  son  of  Maz'un,f  a  man  of  ascetic 
turn  of  mind,  came  one  day  to  sit  with  the  Prophet; 
the  Prophet  gazed  up  into  heaven,  presently  looked 
at  a  certain  spot,  went  thither,  came  back,  and 
again  gazed  up  into  heaven.  Asked  the  meaning 
of  this  performance,  he  replied  that  he  had  been 
visited  by  a  messenger  of  God,  who  told  him  to 
preach  justice,  kindness,  chastity,  etc.;  and  Othman 
believed.  Several  declared  that  dissatisfaction  with 
pagan  beliefs  was  what  had  led  them  to  the  Prophet ; 
and  if  there  was  a  trace  of  this  feeling  in  a  man,  Abu 
Bakr  would  not  let  it  escape  him.  Such  a  convert 
may  have  been  Sa'id,  son  of  Zaid  Ibn  'Amr;  his 
father  had  rejected  polytheism  and  idolatry  before 
Mohammed's  mission  was  started,  without,  however, 
adopting  Judaism  or  Christianity.  Sa'id's  conver- 
sion was  early,  but  he  is  not  reckoned  among  Abu 
Bakr's  proselytes.  Such  a  convert  may  also  have 
been  'Abd  al-Ka'bah  (servant  of  the  Ka'bah),  son  of 
'Auf,  re-named  'Abd  al-Rahman ;  for  the  Ka'bah 
was  not  yet  dissociated  from  paganism.:):  This  man 
was  a  merchant,  partner  of  a  certain  Rabah,  called 
by  his  new  friends  the  trustworthy  ;  he  had  a  rare 
talent  for  making  money,  with  which  he  was  free- 
handed. Years  after,  when  he§  with  the  other 
Refugees  arrived  at  Yathrib  destitute,  he  asked  for 

* Musnad,  i.,  462. 

1\Ibid,\.,  318. 
%  His  original  name  is  doubtful ;  others  give  it  as  servant  of 'Amr 
%Alif-Bfi,i.,  437 


ioo  Mohammed 

no  further  provision  than  to  be  shown  the  market ; 
once  there  he  could  get  on,  though  he  had  no  cap- 
ital.* He  is  said  to  have  been  a  total  abstainer  be- 
fore conversion ;  to  have  disapproved  of  righting  in 
the  cause  of  Islam,  yet  when  the  practice  had  once 
begun,  to  have  been  inferior  to  none  in  courage. 
Such  a  man  might  not  seem  to  be  promising  ma- 
terial for  Abu  Bakr;  but  he  was  some  eight  years 
Abu  Bakr's  junior,  and  may  have  been  subject  to  his 
influence.  Or  in  his  case,  too,  a  lady  may  have  been 
involved.  There  was  at  Meccah  a  certain  Mikdad, 
who  had  fled  from  his  own  tribe  for  a  murder,  and 
been  received  by  the  Kindah ;  among  them,  too,  he 
shed  blood,  and  fled  to  Meccah,  where  he  was 
adopted  by  a  man  named  Al-Aswad,  of  the  tribe  of 
Mohammed's  mother.  'Abd  al-Ka'bah  advised  him 
(in  conversation)  to  marry,  yet  refused  him  his 
daughter,  with  scorn ;  but  he  found  consolation 
from  Mohammed,  who  gave  him  the  daughter  of 
his  uncle,  Zubair,  already  dead,  on  the  same  condi- 
tions (we  suspect)  as  those  to  which  Othman  had 
been  compelled  to  assent.  The  further  steps  which 
led  to  the  winning  over  of  'Abd  al-Ka'bah  are  un- 
known. With  Mikdad  there  was  won  another  con- 
vert, 'Utbah,  son  of  Ghazwan,  also  a  client,  and 
probably  poor. 

Three  men  who  figure  among  the  earliest  converts 
are  Al-Zubair,  son  of  'Awwam;  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu 
Wakkas,  and  Talhah,  son  of  'Ubaidallah.  The  first 
of  these,  according  to  different  traditions  was  eight, 
ten,  or  seventeen  at  this  time  ;  he  was  a  cousin  of 

*  Isabah. 


Islam  as  a  Secret.  Society  }  i ',;  :  \ :  iot 

the  Prophet,  son  of  a  corn-chandler,  in  training  to  be 
a  butcher,  and  is  said  to  have  experienced  rough 
treatment  at  home.  If  his  conversion  be  rightly 
placed  at  this  time,  perhaps  he  was  a  playmate  of 
Ali,  initiated  in  the  mysteries  that  he  might  not 
reveal  them;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  their  houses 
were  connected. 

Talhah  was  certainly  grown  up,  and  professed  to 
have  been  directed  to  Mohammed  by  a  monk  whom 
he  met  when  travelling  on  business  to  Syria.  If 
any  value  attaches  to  this  statement,  it  probably 
means  that  he  had  heard  the  Arabian  paganism 
ridiculed  by  followers  of  the  fashionable  creed,  and 
though  their  jibes  were  without  effect  on  most 
minds,  some  were  impressed  thereby.  Later  in 
life  he  won  celebrity  by  his  freehandedness  with 
money.* 

Sa'd  claimed  to  have  been  for  a  whole  week  the 
third  Moslem,  in  which  case  he  was  actually  Abu 
Bakr's  first  convert.  He  was  by  trade  an  arrow- 
maker,  and  was  thought  to  have  shed  the  first  blood 
in  the  new  cause.  He  was  aged  seventeen  at  the 
time  of  his  conversion. 

Every  convert  when  brought  to  Mohammed  ex- 
hibited some  repugnance,  except  Abu  Bakr.  This 
was  afterwards  acknowledged  by  the  Prophet :  but 
he  did  not  state  what  it  was  that  the  newcomers 
disliked.  Nor  have  we  any  record  of  the  procedure 
at  these  solemn  scenes:  at  most  we  hear  that  the 
Prophet  taught  the  proselytes  to  pray.  At  a  later 
time,  however,  admission  to  see  the  Prophet  meant 

*  Ghurar  al-KhascCis,  245. 


IC2:  Mohammed 

that  the  proselyte  was  prepared  to  swear  allegiance, 
and  bound  himself  to  abstain  from  certain  immoral 
acts  ;  for  the  commission  of  which  he  was  to  undergo 
punishment  in  this  life,  if  he  meant  to  escape  punish- 
ment hereafter*;  and  besides  at  a  still  later  period 
(in  the  case  of  men)  to  fight  all  nations  till  they 
adopted  the  new  religion.  We  can  scarcely  doubt 
that  from  the  first  the  proselytes  undertook  some 
serious  obligation,  such  as  those  who  are  admitted 
to  other  secret  societies  undertake  ;  those  obligations 
are  not  ordinarily  some  definite  performances  in  the 
present  but  readiness  to  act  when  called  upon  in 
the  future.  It  would  appear  that  from  the  first  the 
Prophet  instituted  brotherhoods  between  pairs  of 
believers,  whose  new  relationship  was  to  supersede 
the  claims  of  blood  just  as  the  Christianity  of  the 
tribes  who  formed  the  yIbad  or  Christians  of  Hirah 
had  provided  a  bond  different  from  that  of  the  tribe. 
The  repugnance  observed  by  the  Prophet  probably 
lay  in  the  anxiety  which  even  the  young  feel  in  com- 
mitting themselves  to  something  for  life,  especially 
when  that  something  is  an  unknown  quantity,  a 
course  of  which  the  issue  is  obscure. 

Of  the  evolution  of  the  Mohammedan  ceremony 
called  saldt,  the  name  of  which  was  borrowed  from 
either  the  Jewish  or  the  Christian  name  for  prayer, 
we  possess  little  detailed  knowledge.  In  the  form 
afterwards  stereotyped  the  Jewish  practice  of  stand- 
ing erect,  the  Christian  of  prostration,^  and  a  third 


*  Tabari,  i.,  1213. 

\  Rothstein,  Lakhmiden,  25. 

\  Von  Kr enter,  Streifziige%  15. 


POSTURES  OF  PRAYER. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society       .       103 

of  inclination  (the  back  horizontal  with  the  hands 
on  the  knees)  were  combined ;  and  certain  formulae 
were  prescribed.  "  We  used  at  first,"  said  a  convert, 
"  not  knowing  what  to  say  when  we  prayed,  to  salute 
God,  Gabriel,  and  Michael;  the  Prophet  presently 
taught  us  another  formula  instead."*  A  prayer  corre- 
sponding to  the  Pater  Noster  was  composed  probably 
at  a  later  time  :  it  contains  polemical  references  to 
some  sect  or  sects  not  specified,  f  As  will  be  seen,  the 
saldt  was  afterwards  employed  as  a  sort  of  military 
drill :  at  the  first  it  was  ascetic  in  character,  the  de- 
votee "  tying  a  cord  to  his  chest."  %  That  the 
division  of  the  day  into  periods  for  the  purpose  of 
performing  saldt  five  times  was  an  innovation  of  the 
late  Meccan  period  is  asserted  by  the  tradition  ;  and 
the  details  of  the  purity  legislation  appear  to  have 
been  still  later.  Yet  the  theory  that  God  should  be 
approached  only  by  persons  in  a  state  of  purity  was 
known  in  South  Arabia  before  Mohammed's  time, 
whence  it  is  probable  that  his  earliest  converts  were 
instructed  therein ;  and  indeed  the  washing  of  the 
garments  which  marked  conversion  belongs  to  the 
same  range  of  ideas. 

The  saldt  was  during  this  early  period  performed 
in  strict  privacy,  and  doubtless  meetings  of  believers 
were  fixed  with  great  caution.     Whatever  part  the 

*  Musnad,  i.,  423. 

f  "Lead  us  in  the  straight  path,  the  path  of  those  unto  whom 
Thou  hast  been  gracious,  not  those  with  whom  Thou  hast  been 
angry  [the  Jews  ?],  nor  those  who  go  astray  [the  Christians?]"  This 
is  Tirmidhi's  explanation. 

\  Tabari,  Comm.,  xvi.,  90.  Probably  the  other  end  of  the  cord 
was  attached  to  the  roof;  Histoire  du  Bas-cmpire,  xiii.,  312. 


104       •  Mohammed 

converts  had  previously  taken  in  the  Meccan  worship 
they  doubtless  continued  to  take.  Whether  the 
sanctity  of  the  Ka'bah  was  maintained  at  this  time 
by  the  Prophet  we  do  not  know  :  more  probably  it 
was  rejected.  And  if  the  question  of  a  direction  to  be 
taken  in  prayer  was  considered  at  this  time,  we  can 
scarcely  doubt  that  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem  was 
the  point  to  which  he  turned.  The  connection  of 
the  Abraham-myth  with  the  Ka'bah  appears  to  have 
been  the  result  of  later  speculation,  and  to  have 
been  fully  developed  only  when  a  political  need  for 
it  arose. 

A  fair  amount  of  the  Koran  must  have  been  in 
existence  when  Abu  Bakr  started  his  mission ;  at 
least  he  must  have  been  able  to  assure  the  prose- 
lytes that  his  Prophet  was  in  receipt  of  divine  com- 
munications, such  as  he  could  allege  in  proof  of  his 
personal  acquaintance  with  the  real  God ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  with  the  gradual  increase  in  the  num- 
bers of  the  believers,  the  Koran  transformed  itself 
from  the  "  mediumistic  "  communications  with  which 
it  began  to  the  powerful  sermons  with  which  its 
second  period  is  occupied.  For  a  very  small  audi- 
ence the  processes  undergone  by  the  medium  are 
exceedingly  effective.  The  necessity  of  excluding 
strangers  keeps  those  present  in  a  state  of  alarm  ; 
the  approach  of  the  " superior  condition"  shown  by 
the  medium  collapsing,  requiring  to  be  wrapped  up, 
and  then  revealing  himself  in  a  violent  state  of 
perspiration,  is  highly  sensational ;  the  marvellous 
processes  which  the  spectators  have  witnessed  make 
them  attach  extraordinary  value  to  the  utterances 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  105 

which  the  medium  produces,  as  the  result  of  his 
trance.  If  any  unbelievers  are  present  the  medium 
(in  many  cases)  cannot  act :  and  the  words  of  the 
biographers  imply  that  in  the  case  of  these  early 
converts  they  signified  their  belief  before  they  were 
brought  into  Mohammed's  presence. 

As  the  Prophet  more  and  more  identified  himself 
with  his  part  he  endeavoured  to  live  up  to  it.  It  is 
said  that  he  habitually  wore  a  veil,*  and  this  prac- 
tice may  have  begun  at  the  time  of  these  mys- 
terious stances,  of  which  it  served  to  enhance  the 
solemnity.  In  course  of  time  he  acquired  a  be- 
nign and  pastoral  manner;  when  he  shook  hands  he 
would  not  withdraw  his  hand  first ;  when  he  looked 
at  a  man  he  would  wait  for  the  other  to  turn  away 
his  face.f  Scrupulous  care  was  bestowed  by  him  on 
his  person :  every  night  he  painted  his  eyes,  and  his 
body  was  at  all  times  fragrant  with  perfumes.^  His 
hair  was  suffered  to  grow  long  till  it  reached  his 
shoulders ;  and  when  it  began  to  display  signs  of 
grey,  §  these  were  concealed  with  dyes.  ||  He  pos- 
sessed the  art  of  speaking  a  word  in  season  to  the 
neophytes — saying  something  which  gratified  the 
special  inclinations  of  each,  or  which  manifested 
acquaintance  with  his  antecedents.  How  many  of 
the  stories  which  illustrate  the  latter  talent  are  true 
it  is  hard  to  say ;  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  he 
ras  acquainted  with  the  devices  known  to  modern 

*Jahizs  Bayan,  ii.,  79,  84. 

f  Tirmidhiy  410  (ii.,  80). 

\Alif-Bd,  ii.,  29. 

%Musnad,  iv.,  188. 

I  Ibid.,  iv.,  163.     This  is  disputed. 


io6  Mohammed 

mediums  by  which  private  information  can  either 
be  obtained,  or  the  appearance  of  possessing  it  dis- 
played. Moreover,  in  the  early  period  none  were 
admitted  to  see  the  Prophet  in  character  of  whom 
the  missionary  was  not  sure,  and  who  had  not  been 
prepared  to  venerate. 

"The  needs  of  his  profession  do  not  appear  to  have 
made  him  actually  a  student — yet  there  is  no  ques- 
tion that  as  the  Koran  grew  in  bulk,  its  knowledge 
of  biblical  stories  became  somewhat  more  accurate : 
and  though  this  greater  degree  of  accuracy  may 
have  at  times  been  due  to  the  Prophet's  memory,  it 
is  more  likely  that  he  took  such  opportunities  as 
offered  of  acquiring  more  information.  The  follow- 
ing story  gives  us  an  idea  of  his  method.  Jabr,  a 
client  of  the  Banu  'Abd  al-Dar,  was  a  Jew*  who 
worked  as  a  smith  in  Meccah.  He  and  Yasar  (also  a 
Jew)  used  to  sit  together  at  their  trade  and  in  the 
course  of  their  work  read  out  their  sacred  book ;  the 
Prophet  used  to  pass  by  and  listen.  Presently  Jabr 
was  converted  by  hearing  the  Prophet  read  the 
Surah  of  Joseph. f  It  has  been  suggested  that  some 
of  the  Christian  matter  in  the  Koran  may  have  been 
learned  from  an  early  follower  named  Suhaib,  who 
was  a  Greek  from  Mosul.J  The  tradition  names 
more  than  one  person  who  was  thought  by  the 
Meccans  to  be  the  Prophet's  mentor,  and  the  Koran 
even  refutes  this  charge  by  stating  that  the  person 
to  whom  they  allude  had  a  foreign  tongue,  and  could 


*  Or  a  Christian  ;  the  Moslems  are  careless  about  distinguishing, 
f  Isabah,  i.,  452  ;  Wakidi  ( IV.),  349. 
%  Loth  in  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  xxxv.,  621. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  107 

not  therefore  be  the  author  of  an  Arabic  Koran. 
Perhaps  that  reply  is  unconvincing  ;  but  the  impres- 
sion which  the  Koran  leaves  is  that  of  information 
picked  up  casually  rather  than  acquired  by  any  sort 
of  methodical  study.*  In  a  Surah  delivered  at 
Medinah  in  which  the  story  of  Saul  should  be  told, 
Saul's  name  is  mutilated  to  Talut,  clearly  a  jingle 
with  Galut,the  nearest  that  the  Prophet  could  get  to 
Goliath :  the  name  of  Samuel  is  forgotten,  he  is  con- 
fused with  Gideon,  and  the  story  of  Gideon  is  told 
wrongly.  This  phenomenon  almost  disposes  of  the 
theory  of  a  mentor,  for  no  mentor  could  be  so  ignor- 
ant of  the  Bible.  Moreover  the  sources  of  the  Koran 
are  very  numerous — Abyssinian  and  Syriac,  as  well 
as  Hebrew  and  Greek.f  So  far  then  as  the  biblical 
tales  of  the  Koran  were  not  reproductions  of  matter 
heard  by  Mohammed  on  his  early  travels,  they  are 
likely  to  have  been  all  picked  up  by  listening  when 
services  or  Bible  readings  were  going  on.  The  Jinn 
were  thought  by  him  to  listen  at  the  heavenly  coun- 
cils in  the  same  way,  and  in  consequence  to  pick 
up  intelligence  which  was  only  partially  correct. 
That  danger  there  was  no  way  of  averting,  except 
engaging  a  teacher,  which  would  have  involved 
still  greater  risks. 

Publicity  was  expressly  discouraged  by  him.  A 
Syrian  ('Amr,  son  of  'Abasah)  who  claimed  at  a 
later  time  to  have  been  the  fourth  Moslem,  asserted 


*  Noldeke,  Sketches,  c.  ii. 

fThe  best  evidence  for  this  is  the  form  assumed  by  the  proper 
names.  Syt,  Die  Eigcnnamen  im  Koran,  1903,  does  scant  justice  to 
this  theme. 


108  Mohammed 

that  having  himself  abandoned  the  worship  of  idols,* 
he  had  come  to  Mohammed,  who,  he  heard,  was  in 
possession  of  the  truth ;  he  found  Mohammed  bent 
on  maintaining  the  secrecy  of  his  mission  :  he  offered 
to  join  Mohammed  openly,  but  was  forbidden  to  do 
so,  since  he  would  serve  the  cause  better  by  return- 
ing to  his  country  and — we  may  presume — playing 
the  part  of  Abu  Bakr.  Some  early  revelations  are 
said  to  have  been  delivered  in  a  cave,  a  natural  form 
of  hiding-place  f;  and  in  the  anecdotes  that  have 
already  been  told  Mohammed  is  found  in  seclusion  ; 
when  Abu  Dharr,  afterwards  a  famous  ascetic,  came 
from  a  distance  to  learn  about  the  Prophet's  views 
(according  to  one  account),  the  latter  was  hiding  in 
the  mountains.^:  But  one  fact  that  emerges  from  the 
obscurity  which  is  spread  over  the  early  days  of  the 
mission  is  that  Mohammed,  after  some  conversions 
had  been  made,  went  into  "  the  house  of  Al-Arkam, 
on  Mount  Safa."  This  Al-Arkam  was  a  member  of 
the  tribe  Makhzum,  and  must  have  been  about 
seventeen  when  the  mission  started :  some  made  him 
out  to  be  the  seventh,  others  the  tenth  convert. 
His  house  on  Safa  appears  to  have  served  as  a  meet- 
ing-house, where  the  Prophet  could  receive  neophytes 
or  hold  stances  without  fear  of  being  disturbed.  So 
we  are  told  of  two  converts,  both  Greek  slaves, 
Suhaib,  son  of  Sinan,  and  'Ammar,  son  of  Yasir, 
accidentally  meeting  at  the  door  of  Al-Arkam's 
house,  entering  to  make  their  profession  of  faith,  and 


* Musnady  iv.,  in. 
f  Muslim,  ii.,  194. 
\Isabah,  iii.,  11 73. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  109 

then  at  eventide  skulking  away.*  Many  years 
lapsed  before  Mohammed  was  able  to  reward  his 
faithful  entertainer  by  presenting  him  with  a  dwell- 
ing at  Medinah.  Even  if  secrecy  had  not  been 
desirable,  the  intense  curiosity  of  Orientals  would 
have  seriously  interfered  with  stances  held  in  a 
thickly  populated  town.  But  that  curiosity  would 
not  induce  them  to  go  a  short  journey  outside  it, 
hence  Mohammed  could  hold  his  meetings  in  peace. 
Since  at  the  first  conversion  did  not  interfere  with  a 
man's  business,  it  is  likely  that  these  meetings  were 
at  irregular  intervals. 

We  should  gladly  be  able  to  make  use  of  the  tables 
drawn  up  by  Professor  Starbuck  in  analysing  the 
next  set  of  conversions ;  but  the  ages  recorded  are 
absolutely  irregular,  and  the  phenomena  can  be 
brought  under  no  rule.  The  persons  who  went  to 
the  house  of  Arkam  were  of  all  sorts  of  ages,  the 
oldest  ten  years  the  Prophet's  senior,  some  in 
middle  life,  forty-six  or  thirty-four,  several  quite 
young.  Several  were  slaves  or  freedmen — persons 
for  whom  a  new  system  which  holds  out  prospects 
of  equality  had  an  easily  intelligible  attraction. 
And  indeed  their  condition  speedily  bettered  itself 
— for  the  manumission  of  believers  was  soon  declared 
to  be  a  pious  duty.f  Some  belonged  to  the  .metic 
class,  who  were  without  relations  in  Meccah.  Hatib, 
son  of  Abu  Balta'ah,  probably  a  Christian  from  Hirah, 
who  will  meet  us  once  or  twice  in  the  sequel,  is  a  speci- 
men.    Most  of  them  are  however  to  us  mere  names. 


* Ibn  Sad,  iii.,  162. 

f  So  Abu  Bakr  bought  and  manumitted  'Amir  Ibn  Fuhairah. 


no  Mohammed 

In  a  few  cases  families  were  converted  wholesale, 
three  sons  of  Jahsh,  three  sons  of  Al-Harith  (Hatib, 
Hattab,  and  Ma'mar),  four  sons  of  Al-Bukair,  three 
sons  of  Maz'un,  are  enumerated  among  the  acces- 
sions of  this  period  ;  and  in  several  cases  the  conver- 
sion of  one  brother  was  succeeded  by  that  of 
another ;  so  Ali's  older  brother  Ja'far  joined  the 
movement,  in  which  he  was  destined  to  play  a  part 
of  some  importance,  though  less  distinguished  than 
that  of  the  Prophet's  son-in-law.  The  privilege  of 
re-naming  followers  was  one  of  which  other  prophets 
had  availed  themselves,  and  this  Mohammed  claimed 
wherever  a  proselyte  was  called  after  an  idol,  or 
otherwise  had  an  ill-omened  appellation.  Special 
titles  of  honour  were  also  conferred,  but  probably  at 
a  later  time:  Abu  Bakr  was  called  the  Faithful 
Friend,  Zubair,  the  Apostle,  Abu  Ubaidah,  son  of 
Jarrah,  the  Faithful,  Omar,  the  Saviour.  These 
were  like  the  decorations  conferred  by  the  sovereign 
in  modern  times  on  persons  who  have  either  done 
some  public  service,  or  are  intrusted  with  some 
important  charge. 

The  precursors  of  Mohammed  do  not  enter  on  the 
scene  at  this  period,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  they 
were  in  the  secret,  supposing  more  than  one  of  them 
to  have  been  alive  at  the  time.  "Those  that  are 
whole  need  not  a  physician,"  and  the  proud  possess- 
ors of  monotheistic  book-learning  were  at  no  time 
promising  material  for  proselytism.  Moreover  these 
persons  (it  would  appear)  had  not  kept  their  opinions 
secret. 

That   conversion    could    be    concealed    for    any 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  1 1 1 

length  of  time  is  rather  surprising,  for,  even  if 
the  positive  part  of  the  new  system  could  be  per- 
formed in  secrecy,  the  negative  part  would  speedily 
give  evidence  of  itself.  The  worship  of  the  gods 
was  a  feature  of  every-day  life.  Visits  to  their 
abodes  for  a  number  of  days,  accompanied  by  sacri- 
fices of  sheep  and  camels,  were  not  uncommon.* 
Mohammed's  partner  (or  his  son)  described  some  of 
the  household  rites :  "  My  parents  used  to  churn  the 
milk  till  it  was  done,  when  they  would  pour  some  of 
it  into  a  vessel,  and  tell  me  to  take  it  to  the  gods. 
Then  a  dog  might  come  and  drink  the  milk  or  eat  the 
butter,  and  afterwards  pollute  the  vessel."  This  rite 
was  no  more  and  no  less  ridiculous  than  any  other  in 
which  an  imaginary  person  is  treated  as  a  human 
being  ;  but  it  can  be  made  out  to  be  ridiculous  :  and 
the  persons  whose  eyes  had  been  focussed  to  the 
point  whence  the  sacrifice  of  milk  to  Al-Lat  ap- 
peared ridiculous  would  feel  the  greatest  repugnance 
when  called  upon  to  take  part  in  it :  the  young  and 
thoughtless  would  burn  to  play  the  part  of  Abraham 
who  broke  his  father's  idols.  And  indeed  Ali  as- 
serted that  Abraham's  act  had  been  imitated  by  the 
Prophet  himself.  The  two  went  secretly  to  the 
Ka'bah  to  destroy  an  idol  that  was  on  the  roof. 
First  Mohammed  tried  to  mount  on  Ali's  shoulders: 
but  Ali  was  not  yet  strong  enough,  and  there- 
fore Mohammed  had  to  support  his  cousin ;  who 
wrenched  the  idol  from  its  place,  and  caused  it  to 
crash  in  pieces  on  the  ground.f     Probably  this  story 

*Azraki,  81. 

\  Musnad,  i.,  84,  etc. 


1 1 2  Mohamrnea 

represents  rather  what  they  ought  to  have  done  than 
what  they  actually  did.  Still  we  see  the  need  for 
proselytising  only  persons  in  whose  self-control  con- 
fidence could  be  felt.  At  a  later  period  Mohammed 
is  recorded  to  have  recommended  a  certain  proced- 
ure to  persons  who,  in  order  to  save  their  lives,  had 
to  go  through  some  of  the  ceremonies  of  idolatry  :  to 
appear  to  men  to  worship  while  in  secret  venting 
some  expressions  of  contempt  upon  the  idol.  Those 
who  found  the  idols  unable  to  resent  this  behaviour 
would  be  only  confirmed  in  their  contempt  for  them. 
Meanwhile  the  worship  which  was  to  be  substituted 
for  the  old  rites  was  carried  on  in  strict  privacy. 

To  what  extent  the  secret  society  was  conscious 
of  its  potentialities  we  know  not.  The  advantage 
of  the  darkness  for  the  first  few  years  of  its  growth 
was  great.  That  darkness  saved  it  from  being 
crushed  at  the  outset.  Ridicule  and  contempt  could 
be  more  easily  endured  when  some  hundred  persons 
were  involved,  than  if  the  Prophet  had  been  com- 
pelled to  endure  them  by  himself.  It  saved  him,  too, 
from  the  character  of  the  eccentric  sage  (such  as 
Warakah  and  the  others  had  borne),  investing  him 
from  his  first  public  appearance  with  that  of  the 
leader  of  a  party :  it  gave  the  Prophet  time  to  secure 
over  a  reasonable  number  of  persons  that  influence 
which  he  could  exercise  to  such  an  extraordinary 
degree.  It  prepared  him  for  ruling  men  on  a  great 
scale.  Gathered  in  the  house  of  Al-Arkam  there 
were  specimens  of  most  of  the  classes  with  whom 
his  further  career  brought  him  in  contact :  there 
were  examples  of  the  religious  enthusiast  and  gloomy 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  1 1 3 

fanatic — Othman,  son  of  Maz'un,  seems  to  have  been 
of  this  type  ;  some  of  the  weak-minded  and  super- 
stitious ;  many  of  the  persons  who  find  in  religion 
the  possibility  of  a  career.  The  skill  of  both  Abu 
Bakr  and  the  Prophet  was  displayed  in  retaining 
their  hold  on  this  slowly  growing  company.  In  the 
case  of  the  poor  it  was  done  by  subsidies ;  presently, 
when  Islam  was  penalised,  the  Prophet  found  he  had 
whole  families  on  his  hands ;  but  we  need  not  doubt 
that  from  the  first  the  wealth  which  he  controlled 
proved  useful.  Unlike  the  Christian  missionaries 
who  had  to  be  supported  by  their  converts,  he  could 
claim  that  he  sought  no  reward,  and  to  the  end  re- 
fused either  to  enjoy  the  Alms  himself,  or  to  allow 
any  members  of  his  family  to  enjoy  them.  The  most 
successful  of  the  mediums  played  this  card.  Home 
with  its  aid  won  his  way  into  the  society  of  princes. 

Like  most  of  those  who  have  known  mankind 
thoroughly,  Mohammed  held,  and  at  times  all  but 
openly  avowed,  the  doctrine  that-  every  man  has 
his  price,  and  indeed  a  price  to  be  estimated  in 
camels. 

But  where  "  temporal  relief  "  was  not  required,  the 
promise  of  the  Garden  worked  wonders.  The  glow- 
ing descriptions  thereof  contained  in  the  Koran  are 
still  a  powerful  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Moslem 
missionaries.  The  history  of  Islam  is  a  record  of 
sacrifices  gladly  made  in  order  to  obtain  those  gaud- 
ily painted  delights.  Its  character  is  not  unlike  that 
of  some  savage  Paradises  :  "  there  are  prettier  women 
in  the  Land  of  the  Great  Spirit  than  any  of  your 

t squaws,  and  game  in  much  greater  abundance,"  said 


1 1 4  Mohammed 

a  Crow  to  Beckwourth,*  urging  him  to  fight.  Its 
name  was  taken  from  Jews  or  Christians,  its  descrip- 
tion in  part  from  Ta'if,  where  the  wealthy  Meccans 
had  gardens,  but  various  touches  were  added  as 
occasion  required. 

So  soon  as  Islam  became  strong,  the  ordinary 
rule  of  the  secret  society  was  avowed :  whereby 
whoso  joins  it  once  joins  it  for  ever,  his  life  being 
forfeit  if  he  quits.  This  rule,  which  to  the  present 
day  renders  the  conversion  of  a  Mohammedan  all 
but  an  impossibility,  is  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  nature  of  secret  societies  that  we  should  place 
the  beginnings  of  it  very  early ;  and  a  suspicion  at 
least  of  its  existence  was  probably  what  kept  many 
a  proselyte  faithful  under  persecution.  Yet  the  re- 
ligion which  is  embraced  for  sordid  motives  is  often 
retained  for  honourable  reasons ;  and  early  observers 
found  that  among  the  most  sincere  believers  in  Islam 
were  persons  who  had  been  lured  into  it  by  bribes.f 

Moreover,  to  some  persons  secrecy  has  an  attrac- 
tion, and  some  gratification  is  afforded  by  leading 
a  double  life.  Secret  societies  still  exist,  meeting 
where  no  one  suspects  their  object,  sometimes  proba- 
bly for  mummeries,  sometimes  to  discuss  schemes 
of  far-reaching  import.  One  writer  of  ability  sus- 
pects that  at  Mohammed's  early  meetings  some 
socialistic  scheme  was  discussed,  some  better  divi- 
sion of  wealth  between  rich  and  poor.  %     For  this 


*  Autobiography,  161. 
\  Muslim,  ii.,  212  ;  Musnad,  Hi.,  175. 

%  So,  too,  preachers  describe  fylohammed  as  sent  that  he  might  ob- 
tain justice  for  the  poor  from  the  rich.     Hariri,  p.  328. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  1 1 5 

there  is  little  evidence.  That  the  harsh  things  said 
at  these  meetings  about  the  worship  of  idols  included 
condemnation  of  the  representatives  of  the  official 
worship  at  Meccah  is  exceedingly  probable ;  and  the 
notion  that  a  Prophet  ought  to  be  an  autocrat 
probably  was  developed  very  early.  But  if  one  of 
the  secret  society  asked  another  why  he  belonged  to 
it,  he  would  probably  have  replied  :  in  order  to  gain 
Paradise  and  escape  the  Fire.  *  Men  were  initiated 
into  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis  for  some  similar  reason. 
Examples  are  not  wanting  of  converts  whose  faith 
received  some  sudden  shock,  or  who  (as  unbelievers 
might  say)  suddenly  woke  up  to  the  unreality  of  the 
whole  system. 

New  sects  require  some  freemasonry  by  which 
members  may  know  each  other,  and  perhaps  the 
greeting  M  Peace  upon  you  "  was  introduced  at  this 
early  period,  though  a  visitor  to  Medinah  fifteen 
years  after  the  commencement  of  the  mission  de- 
clared that  it  was  new.f  This  greeting  was  doubt- 
less usual  among  Jews  and  Christians;  but  it  seems 
to  have  deeply  affected  Mohammed,  who  constantly 
refers  to  it  in  the  Koran.  God  pronounces  it  over 
the  Prophets,  the  angels  taught  it  to  Abraham, 
with  it  the  beatified  dead  are  greeted  in  Para- 
dise, where  indeed  it  is  the  whole  conversation. 
By  adopting  this  salutation,  Mohammed  practically 
identified     his    system    with     that     of    Jews    and 

*Cf.  Tabari,  i.,  1218,  10. 
'  f  Isabah,  iii.,  70;  but  Wellhausen(W.,  75)  renders  this  differently. 
In  Muslim,  ii.,  255,  Abu  Dharr  claims  to  have  invented  it.     See 
also  Goldziker,  Z.  DM.  G.,  xlvi.,  22. 


1 1 6  Mohammed 

Christians.  If  this  greeting  was  not  at  first  permitted 
in  public,  perhaps  the  Moslems  could  recognise  each 
other  by  some  slight  peculiarity  in  their  attire; 
thus  the  Moslems  let  the  end  of  the  turban  hang 
down  the  back,  whereas  the  pagans  tucked  it  in.  * 
So  at  a  later  time  members  of  the  chief  sects  of 
Islam  could  be  distinguished  by  their  mode  of  dis- 
posing their  turbans,  f 

Finally  a  name  had  to  be  given  to  the  new  sect, 
and  either  accident  or  choice  led  to  its  being  called 
the  sect  of  the  Muslims  (Moslems)  or  Hanifs.  Were 
these  originally  names  by  which  the  followers  of 
Maslamah  the  prophet  of  the  Banu  Hani/ah  had 
been  known  ?  Or  had  some  other  sect,  monotheistic 
and  professedly  following  Abraham,  whose  descend- 
ants according  to  the  Bible  some  of  the  Arabs  were, 
been  thus  designated  ?  We  cannot  say ;  no  Arab 
seems  to  have  known  anything  about  the  Hanifs, 
except  that  Abraham  was  one,  and  perhaps  one  or 
two  of  the  precursors  of  Mohammed  ;  and  since  in 
Hebrew  the  word  means  "  hypocrite  "  and  in  Syriac 
"heathen,"  pious  followers  of  Mohammed  did  not 
care  to  study  its  etymology.  The  other  name,  Mus- 
lim, meant  naturally  "  traitor,"  and  when  the  new 
sect  came  to  be  lampooned,  it  provided  the  satirists 
with  a  witticism  ;  Mohammed  showed  some  want  of 
humour  in  adopting  it,  but  displayed  great  ingenuity 
in  giving  it  an  honourable  meaning :  whereas  it  or- 

*  Hariri,  Sckoi.,  346. 

f  Hamadhani,  Makamas,  199.  So  now  Kaisites  and  Yemenites 
{Goldziher,  M.  S.,  i.,  84).  There  is  also  incidental  evidence  that 
Mohammed  at  the  first  wore  his  hair  in  the  Jewish  style,  and  in  such 
particulars  he  was  likely  to  be  followed  by  the  disciples. 


Islam  as  a  Secret  Society  1 1 7 

dinarily  signified  one  who  handed  over  his  friends  to 
their  enemies,  it  was  glorified  into  meaning  one  who 
handed  over  his  person  to  God;  and  though,  like 
Christian,  it  may  conceivably  have  been  first  in- 
vented by  enemies  of  the  sect  whom  it  designated, 
divine  authority  was  presently  adduced  for  the 
statement  that  Abraham  coined  the  name.  Like 
the  Jews,  these  new  Abrahamites  called  their  pagan 
brethren  the  Gentiles,  using  an  Abyssinian  word. 
The  pagans  appear  to  have  ordinarily  called  the  new 
sect,  when  it  had  ceased  to  be  secret,  Sabian,  *  a 
word  properly  meaning  Baptist,  and  belonging  to  a 
community  still-perpetuated  as  the  Soubbas,  whose 
home  is  in  the  marshes  of  the  Euphrates.f  The  ap- 
plication of  the  name  to  Mohammed's  followers  may 
have  been  due  to  mere  ignorance,  as  the  Arabians 
of  our  day  called  Doughty  a  Jew,  because  he  was  a 
Christian  ;  or  it  may  have  been  due  to  the  promin- 
ence given  by  Mohammed  to  the  ceremony  of 
washing. 

*  The  passages  are  collected  by  Wellhauseny  Reste,  236,  237. 
f  Sioujfi,  Les  Soubbas. 


CHAPTER    IV 

PUBLICITY 

WHO  first  professed  the  new  religion  before 
the  world  is  not  certain :  a  tradition*  as- 
cribes the  act  to  a  certain  Khabbab,  son  of 
the  Stammerer,  a  slave  who  worked  at  sword-making 
and  a  starveling.f  To  avow  Islam  meant  to  re- 
nounce publicly  the  national  worship,  to  ridicule, 
and,  if  possible,  break  down  idols,  and  unabashedly 
to  use  the  new  salutation  and  celebrate  the  new- 
fangled rites.  For  it  must  be  remembered  that  Islam 
was  in  its  nature  polemical.  Its  Allah  was  not  satis- 
fied with  worship,  unless  similar  honour  was  paid  to 
no  other  name ;  and  his  worship  also  was  intolerant 
of  idols,  and  of  all  rites  not  instituted  or  approved 
by  himself.  This  then  was  the  meaning  of  the 
meetings  in  the  house  of  Al-Arkam,  and  doubtless  of 
the  knowing  glances  which  the  members  of  the  new 
sect  had  been  observed  to  interchange.  Mohammed 
and  Abu  Bakr  were  planning  an  attack  on  the 
national   religion,    that   cult   which   every    Meccan 

*  Isabah  ;  in  Musnad,  i. ,    404,    seven  persons  are  named  in  this 
contest,  but  not  Khabbab. 
\Tirmidhi,  i.,  181. 


Publicity  1 1 9 

proudly  remembered  had  within  their  memory  been 
defended  by  a  miracle  from  the  Abyssinian  invaders 
and  in  their  myths  had  often  thus  triumphed  before. 
The  gods  they  worshipped  were,  Mohammed  and 
Abu  Bakr  asserted,  no  gods.  For  their  worship 
these  innovators  would  substitute  that  of  the  Jews 
whose  power  in  South  Arabia  had  recently  been 
overthrown,  and  of  the  Christians  with  whose  defeat 
the  national  spirit  of  Arabia  had  just  awakened. 

Mr.  Grote  in  his  treatment  of  the  affair  of  the 
Hermocopidae  taught  men  to  judge  one  age  by 
another.  Persons  who  are  tolerant  of  opinions  which 
differ  from  their  own  become  indignant  when  their 
own  beliefs  are  ruthlessly  assailed.  When  the  asser- 
tions of  Mohammed  were  first  heard  by  those  who 
had  not  been  sounded  and  prepared  for  them,  it 
was  natural  that  they  should  appear  ridiculous,  and 
wicked,  and  suicidal.  Ridiculous,  because  the  gods 
were  thoroughly  familiar  figures.  "  Their  part- 
ners,"* Al-'Uzza  and  Al-Lat,  did  not  exist?  Why, 
lany  a  man  could  state  the  occasions  on  which  they 
had  done  him  personally  a  service,  many  a  child  owed 
its  existence  to  their  intervention,  and  recorded  the 
fact  by  its  name.  To  many  they  had  appeared  in 
dreams;  to  some  doubtless  in  waking  hours;  solicit- 
ing and  bestowing  favours.  And  if  the  men's  attach- 
ment to  their  deities  was  weak  at  times,  that  of  the 
women  who  needed  their  help  more  was  strong. 

But  what  weighed  with  the  men  who  could  think 
calmly  f  was  the  fact  that  Meccah  lived  mainly  by 

*  Surah  vi.,  137. 

f  Wellhausen,  Reste,  220. 


1 20  Mohammed 

its  being  a  religious  centre,  and  by  the  pagan  institu- 
tion of  the  four  months  of  peace.  That  valuable  in- 
stitution the  Christians  were  known  not  to  observe ; 
and  since  Mohammed's  followers  prayed  toward 
another  sanctuary  and  no  longer  kissed  the  Black 
Stone,  *  it  could  be  inferred  that  he  wanted  to 
destroy  the  Ka'bah ;  and  indeed  till  a  late  period  in 
his  career  there  were  Moslems  who  wished  for  its  de- 
struction.! An  early  revelation  seems  intended  to 
reassure  the  Meccans  on  this  point ;  and  Mohammed, 
whose  practical  sense  never  deserted  him,  was  care- 
ful to  find  a  place  for  the  Ka'bah  in  his  system. 

Some  of  our  authorities  introduce  the  first  public 
preaching  of  Islam  with  a  theatrical  scene.  Moham- 
med goes  to  the  precincts  of  the  Ka'bah  and  calls 
on  the  assembled  throng  to  utter  the  formula, 
"  There  is  no  God  but  Allah  "  ;  the  blasphemous 
words  cause  him  to  be  mobbed  ;  news  of  his  danger 
spreads  to  his  family,  and  one  of  Khadijah's  child- 
ren, Al-Harith,  son  of  Abu  Halaht  rushing  to  defend 
his  stepfather,  perished,  the  first  martyr  of  Islam.  J 
But  indeed  the  transference  of  the  Islamic  doctrine 
from  secrecy  to  publicity  must  have  taken  place  by 
some  definite  act  of  delivery — if  the  phrase  may  be 
employed.  When  one  member  of  the  community 
after  another  was  found  to  be  tainted  with  heresy, 
and  each  referred  to  Mohammed  as  his  guide,  Mo- 
hammed was,  we  suppose,  confronted  by  some  of 
those  in  authority,    and  challenged  to   declare  his 


*Ibn  Sa'<f,  Hi.,  88,  10. 

f  IVellhausen,  Reste,  69,  n.  I, 

\  Isabah,  i.,  60. 


Publicity  1 2 1 

views.  And  he  confessed  and  denied  not.  On 
later  occasions  when  compelled  to  risk  much  on  an 
effort,  he  spared  no  pains  in  preparation,  and  his 
first  public  address  to  the  people  of  Meccah  was 
doubtless  elaborately  prepared.  Whether  the  as- 
sembly broke  up  in  mirth  or  in  tumult,  the  Rubi- 
con was  now  crossed.  The  husband  of  Khadijah 
claimed  to  supersede  all  existing  authority,  and  to  be 
the  accredited  representative  of  the  God  of  the  tribe. 
And  there  were  in  Meccah  something  like  a  hundred 
persons  who  recognised  his  claims.  But  the  an- 
nouncement came  as  a  surprise  to  those  who  were 
not  in  the  secret ;  and  Abu  Sufyan,  then  in  Yemen, 
receiving  a  letter  to  the  effect  that  one  of  his  re- 
lations claimed  to  be  God's  Apostle,  had  to  ask 
which  of  his  relations  it  was.* 

The  view  prevalent  at  Meccah  concerning  Mo- 
hammed appears  to  have  been  that  he  was  mad — 
under  the  influence  of  a  Jinn,  one  of  the  beings 
who  were  supposed  to  speak  through  poets  and 
sorcerers.  That  this  charge  stung  Mohammed  to 
the  quick  may  be  inferred  from  the  virulence  with 
which  he  rejects  it,  and  the  invective  with  which  he 
attacks  the  "  bastard  M  who  had  uttered  it.  f  He 
charges  the  author  of  the  outrage  with  being  unable 
to  write  and  with  being  over  head  and  ears  in  debt, 
and  threatens  to  brand  him  on  his  "  proboscis." 

Against    the    humbler    followers^:   of    the    new 


*  Aghaniy  ii.,  96. 
f  Surah  lxviii.,  10-16. 

J  Such  as  Khabbab,   Suhaib   Ibn  Sinan,    'Amir    Ibn    Fuhairah, 
'Ammar  and  his  family.     {Ibn  Sa'd.) 


1 2  2  Moh  ammed 

doctrine  violence  was  speedily  put  in  motion  ;  to  in- 
crease, as  time  went  on,  to  burning  with  hot  irons, 
or  exposure  face  upwards  to  the  midday  sun ;  till 
some  found  refuge  in  the  houses  of  their  more 
powerful  brethren,  or  were  ransomed  by  the  more 
wealthy ;  or  (with  Mohammed's  approval)  de- 
nied with  their  lips,*  while  believing  in  their 
heart.  Five  only  are  said  to  have  actually  re- 
turned to  paganism  in  consequence,  f  Even 
strangers  visiting  Meccah  who  inquired  after  the 
Prophet  were  subjected  to  violence.  \  Against 
those  who  were  wealthy  and  powerful  violence 
could  not  at  first  be  tried ;  the  very  young 
could  indeed  be  rebuked  and  punished  by  their 
fathers,  but  the  grown  men  were  safe  for  a  time 
owing  to  that  institution  of  paganism  which  made 
the  ties  of  clan  and  family  more  powerful  than 
any  moral  law ;  which  made  a  man's  kin  necessarily 
accomplices  in  his  misdeeds.  In  some  cases  parents 
tried  to  reclaim  their  sons  by  appealing  to  their 
affections :  the  mother  of  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu  Wakkas, 
vowed  that  she  would  take  no  food  until  he  recanted ; 
but  he  recanted  not,  and  food  was  forced  down  her 
throat.§  Abu  Talib,  who  for  some  reason  appears  to 
have  been  the  head  of  his  clan,  undertook  to  protect 
Mohammed  from  the  fury  of  the  orthodox,  not 
without  their  approval.  Probably  he  had  been  in  the 
secret  for  some  time.      He  is  said  to  have  surprised 

*Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  178, 
\  Ya'kubi,  ii.,  28. 
% Muslim ,  ii.,  254. 
%Ibid.,  ii.,  24. 


Publicity  123 

his  son  AH  with  Mohammed  prostrating  themselves 
in  the  valley  of  Nakhlah,  and  when  the  nature  of 
the  performance  was  explained  to  him,  to  have 
declared  that  he  had  no  objection  to  it,  but  did  not 
like  the  idea  of  raising  his  seant  above  his  head, 
a  jest  the  thought  of  which  caused  Ali  to  laugh 
years  afterwards.*  This  story  is  likely  to  be  true, 
and  characteristic  of  Abu  Talib,  apparently  a  good- 
natured  man,  not  inclined  to  take  things  seriously, 
yet'rigidly  attached  to  old-fashioned  ideas  of  duty.f 
But  other  members  of  the  family  opposed  Moham- 
med vehemently,  notably  his  uncle,  Abu  Lahab, 
and  his  cousin,  Abu  Sufyan,  son  of  Al-Harith.  % 

For  a  time  then  the  war  between  Mohammed  and 
the  Meccans  was  to  be  one  of  words, — a  long  time, 
no  less  than  eight,  or,  according  to  most,  ten  years, 
so  tenacious  was  the  Meccan  community  of  the  cult 
of  the  c/an,  so  timid  of  the  consequences  which 
arise  from  the  shedding  of  kindred  blood.  If  the 
head  of  Mohammed's  clan  had  let  him  be  outlawed, 
then  Meccah  might  have  been  rid  of  him,  but  Abu 
Talib  could  not  be  persuaded  to  do  this,  and  his 
veto  blocked  the  way.  Perhaps  Abu  Talib  and  his 
numerous-  family  could  not  afford  to  abandon  their 
wealthy  relative  ;  and,  indeed,  had  Mohammed  not 
had  some  power  over  his  uncle,  it  is  unlikely  that 
the  latter  would  have  submitted  to  the  inconven- 
ience which  his  nephew's  mission  brought  on  him. 

*  Afustiad,  i. ,  gg, 

f  Abu  Talib  was  supposed  to  be  a  poet,  but  most  of  the  verses 
attributed  to  him  were  suspect  in  very  early  days.  Some  few  are 
regarded  by  modern  scholars  as  genuine.     Z.D.M.G. ,  xviii. ,  223. 

%  Wakidi  ( IV.),  328. 


124  Mohammed 

The  clear-headed  man  who  played  the  part  of 
Prophet  could  have  at  any  time  secured  his  own 
safety  by  taking  refuge  in  a  Christian  country,  but 
his  aim  was  to  be  not  a  subject  but  a  sovereign,  and 
so  he  made  no  such  mistake.  Truly  the  hand  with 
which  he  started  contained  some  good  cards :  Kha- 
dijah's  devotion  and  her  fortune ;  Abu  Talib's  affec- 
tion and  his  influence ;  Abu  Bakr's  blind  trust  and 
his  persuasiveness.  When  the  first  two  cards  were 
withdrawn  by  fortune,  better  ones  were  substituted, 
and  so  Mohammed  won  the  game. 

Three  separate  deputations  from  the  Meccans  to 
Abu  Talib  are  reported  (or  invented)  by  the  bio- 
grapher :  the  leading  men  of  Meccah  are  sent  to  the 
Sheykh  to  request  him  to  abandon  his  nephew :  on 
one  occasion  they  offer  to  provide  him  with  a  sub- 
stitute— 'Umarah,  son  of  Al-Walid, — as  good  a  man 
as  any  in  Meccah,  if  it  is  only  a  question  of  not 
losing  a  member  from  the  family.  This  'Umarah 
appears  to  have  been  an  Adonis,  who  turned 
women's  heads :  he  went  on  an  expedition  to  Abys- 
sinia once  with  'Amr,  son  of  Al-'Asi,  and  would 
have  killed  his  companion  to  seize  his  wife ;  and 
presently  seduced  one  of  the  Abyssinian's  queens, 
and  was  punished,  not  with  death,  but  with  what, 
to  an  Arab,  was  as  bad.  He  was,  besides,  a  hard 
drinker.  Perhaps  Abu  Talib  was  not  satisfied  that 
he  would  gain  peace  by  the  exchange ;  whatever 
his  reason,  he  held  out  bravely  and  induced  the  rest 
of  his  clan  to  join  him  in  protecting  their  kinsman. 

Mohammed  is  to  be  admired  for  having  profited 
to  the  utmost  from  the  sanctity  of  the  clan,  while 


Publicity  125 

himself  yielding  nothing  in  consequence.  At  a  later 
period  sons  suffered  their  fathers  to  be  killed  in  the 
cause  of  Islam  without  the  faintest  scruple  :  but  even 
at  an  early  period  of  the  mission  the  converts  began 
to  treat  their  pagan  relatives  with  gross  disrespect. 
Mohammed  is  said  to  have  been  struck  with  the 
rudeness  of  the  neophytes  towards  their  uncon- 
verted fathers, — a  phenomenon  which  had  its  origin 
in  the  sentiment  illustrated  by  Lecky,  which  some- 
times renders  religion  incompatible  with  the  domes- 
tic affections. 

The  history  then  of  the  first  years  of  Moham- 
med's preaching  at  Meccah  is  not  without  events, 
but  it  is,  in  the  main,  the  history  of  a  debate,  and  a 
debate  in  which  the  speeches  of  the  counsel  of  one 
side  only  are  preserved.  The  Meccan  Surahs  of  the 
Koran  are  rarely  to  be  dated  with  precision :  many 
are  reports  or  notes  of  the  same  course  of  lectures 
repeated  over  and  over  again  by  the  lecturer. 
Hence,  the  order  in  which  question  after  question 
was  posed  by  the  adversary  is  not  known. 

Of  the  procedure  by  which  a  reform  in  religion 
spreads,  history  gives  so  many  examples  that  from 
one  or  other  we  can  picture  to  ourselves  what  hap- 
pened at  Meccah  as  the  adherents  of  Mohammed 
increased.  The  reformers  invariably  become  aggres- 
sive and  endeavour  to  interfere  with  the  worship 
which  they  regard  as  improper.  We  need  not 
doubt  that  followers  of  Mohammed  pursued  this 
course  with  the  rites  to  which  they  were  taught  to 
object  at  Meccah.  The  Koran  praises  the  conduct 
of  Abraham   who  knocked  down   the  idols  in  his 


126  Mohammed 

father's  shop  and  ascribed  the  act  ironically  to  the 
largest  idol.  The  early  converts  at  Medinah  are 
known  to  have  acted  in  the  style  of  Abraham,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  Meccan  converts  had  set  the  ex- 
ample. Violent  scenes  were  certain  to  be  the  result 
of  such  actions. 

The  old  pagan  religion  was  certainly  not  wanting 
in  rules  on  the  subject  of  food — though  the  concepts 
"  clean  and  unclean  "  may  have  been  strange  to 
it.  It  is  expressly  stated  that  some  foods  were 
permitted  to  men  only,  and  others  probably  were 
only  lawful  for  women  ;  and  of  other  regulations  we 
occasionally  hear  details.*  Mohammed's  conversa- 
tions with  Jews  and  Christians  had  taught  him  to  as- 
sign a  far  higher  importance  to  that  subject  than  the 
pagans  are  likely  to  have  assigned  it.  All  his  life  he 
had  a  hankering  after  the  Jewish  regulations  on  this 
subject ;  only  as  the  Jewish  system  forbade  the  use 
of  camel's  flesh,  he  could  not  well  adopt  it :  he  pre- 
ferred therefore  that  of  the  Christians  who  followed 
the  regulation  of  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  described 
in  Acts  xv.  Blood,  meats  offered  to  idols,  strangled 
beasts,  and  swine  f  were  to  be  forbidden,  but  other 
meat  lawful.  Probably  at  a  later  period  carnivorous 
beasts,  birds  of  prey,  and  the  domestic  ass  were  de- 
clared unlawful.  %  This  apparently  easy  regulation 
would  suffice  to  render  it  impossible  for  a  Moslem  to 
join  in  the  meals  of  most  of  his  countrymen  § ;  for 

*  Noldeke,  Sasaniden,  203;     Wellhausen,  Reste,  125,  n.  1,  168. 
\  Bentley  conjectured  xoipeiaS  for  nopvEiaS. 
\  Musnad,  i. ,  302. 

§A  Moslem  prisoner  at  Meccah  at  a  later  time  implored  his 
guards  not  to  give  him  meat  offered  to  idols.     Isabah,  iii.,  963. 


Publicity  1 2  7 

doubtless  the  slaughter  of  an  animal  was  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases  a  religious  act  * ;  and  Mohammed 
made  "  eating  of  our  slaughtering  "  a  test  of  Islam.f 
One  convert  used  to  speak  with  regret  of  his  enjoy- 
ment of  blood  in  the  time  of  paganism. :(:  Unwill- 
ingness to  eat  the  food  of  others  ordinarily  in  such 
cases  implies  loathing  and  disgust  for  it.  Hence  we 
can  conjecture  with  ease  the  indignation  with  which 
this  idea  of  purity  was  viewed  by  those  whose  con- 
duct was  impugned  by  it. 

The  debates  with  which  the  earlier  years  were 
filled  were  conducted  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Occa- 
sionally the  Prophet  himself  condescended  to  enter 
the  arena,  and  confront  his  antagonist:  he  was 
indeed  a  powerful  preacher,  and  "  when  he  talked 
of  the  Day  of  Judgment  his  cheeks  blazed,  and  his 
voice  rose,  and  his  manner  was  fiery  "§  ;  apparently, 
however,  he  was  not  a  ready  debater,  and  was  worsted 
when  he  tried  this  plan.  Moreover  his  temper  in  de- 
bate was  not  easily  controlled,  and  he  was  apt  to 
give  violent  and  insulting  answers  to  questioners.  | 
He  therefore  received  divine  instructions  not  to  take 
part  in  open  debate,  and  if  addressed  and  ques- 
tioned by  unbelievers,  to  evade  the  question  and 
retire.*!  More  often  then  the  controversy  was  con- 
ducted as  it  is  in  this  country  in  election  times, 
when  different  speakers  address  different  meetings. 

*  Wellhausen  ( IV.),  160. 

f  Isabah,  iii.,  943. 

\  Ibid.,  iii.,  670. 

%Musnad,  Hi.,  371. 

I  Tabari,  Comm.    xxiii.,  19. 

Tf  Surah  vi. ,  67. 


128  Mohammed 

The  points  are  recorded  and  reported  by  members 
of  the  audience  to  the  antagonists;  who  then  pro- 
ceed, if  they  deem  it  worth  while,  in  some  manner  to 
reply.  It  is  also  certain  that  the  Koran  at  an  early 
period  circulated  in  writing,  though  we  do  not  know 
in  what  form.  A  revelation  could  then  be  published 
in  answer  to  an  objection,  sometimes  with  the  form- 
ula "  it  will  be  said  by  "  *  prefixed. 

Some  of  the  scenes  which  the  tradition  describes 
in  connection  with  the  debates  may  be  historical. 
By  the  time  when  the  Prophet's  revelations  had 
attracted  curiosity,  any  public  appearance  on  his 
part  betokened  the  occurrence  of  something  new. 
He  is  found  in  the  Precincts  by  Abu  Jahl  who  asks 
scornfully  for  the  latest.  The  Prophet  replies  that 
he  has  been  carried  to  Jerusalem  and  back  during 
the  night.  Abu  Jahl  does  not  contradict,  wishing 
to  know  what  effect  the  statement  will  have  on  the 
Prophet's  followers.  He  summons  the  clans  to  an 
assembly  :  the  Prophet  repeats  the  assertion.  Per- 
sons present  who  had  visited  Jerusalem  request  him 
to  describe  it.  He  complies,  but  gets  involved  in 
difficulties.  The  tradition  adds  that  thereupon  a 
divine  model  of  the  city  was  placed  before  him 
to  enable  him  to  describe  it  accurately,  f  It  also 
adds  that  the  story  of  the  nightly  journey  made 
some  of  Mohammed's  followers  fall  away:};:  Abu 
Jahl  had  hoped  it  might  shake  the  faith  of  Abu 
Bakr ;  but  Abu  Bakr  retorted  that  he  had  already 

*  Sttrah  vi.,  149. 

f  Musnad,  i.,  309. 

t  Tabari%  Comm.y  xv.,  iniU 


Publicity  1 29 

believed   greater    improbabilities   on    Mohammed's 
authority. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  Meccans  obtained 
the  aid  of  Jews  to  assist  them  in  their  refutation  of 
the  Prophet.  This  would  appear  to  be  an  anachron- 
ism ;  after  the  Flight,  when  the  Prophet  began  to 
quarrel  with  the  Jews  of  Medinah,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  some  of  the  latter  went  to  Meccah  and  de- 
lighted the  Meccans  with  ridicule  of  the  Prophet's 
ignorance ;  but  during  the  first  years  of  the  Meccan 
mission,  there  is  strong  reason  for  believing  that  so 
far  as  the  Jews  interfered  it  was  on  the  side  of  Mo- 
hammed. The  Jews  were  appealed  to  by  the  latter 
as  a  final  authority  *  ;  he  positively  asserts  that  they 
(as  opposed  to  "  the  Gentiles  ")  believe  in  him:  in- 
deed, when  in  doubt  concerning  his  own  mission,  he 
is  invited  to  appeal  to  them  to  make  sure,  f  So 
long  as  his  campaign  against  idolatry  and  in  favour 
of  "  Allah "  showed  no  sign  of  interfering  with 
their  interests,  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should 
not  find  them  friendly  and  ready  to  support  him. 
Since  there  was  great  danger  of  all  Arabia  becom- 
ing Christian,  they  may  even  have  deemed  it  saga- 
cious to  encourage  a  non-Christian  teacher.  But 
there  were  also  persons  "  to  whom  Knowledge  had 
been  given  aforetime  "  who  prostrated  themselves 
when  the  Koran  was  read :  which  implies  that 
the  Prophet  had  also  Christian  supporters  at  Mec- 
cah. X    One  authority  informs  us  that  the  Kuraish 

*  Surah  xiii.,  43  ;  xxviii.,  52  ;  xxix..  46. 
\  Ibid  x. ,  94. 
\Ibid  xvii.,  108,  9. 
9 


1 30  Mohammed 

had  Parsee  prompters*;  and  this  is  not  wholly 
improbable. 

The  objections  recorded  and  ostensibly  an- 
swered in  the  Koran  appear  to  have  been  directed 
against  every  part  and  feature  of  the  new  system  ; 
against  Mohammed  personally,  against  his  notion  of 
prophecy,  against  his  style,  his  statements,  his  doc- 
trines. It  is  impossible  to  suggest  any  chronological 
order  for  them. 

From  the  first  he  had  followed  the  example  of 
the  New  Testament  prophets  in  threatening  that 
a  terrible  day  was  at  hand.  The  stories  which  are 
repeated  so  often  in  the  Koran  are  mainly  intended 
as  warnings.  Prophets  whose  names  he  had  partly 
from  Jews,  partly  from  Christians,  partly  from 
pagans,  had  before  this  time  done  the  same.  They 
had  come  to  announce  a  terrible  judgment,  only  to 
be  averted  by  obeying  them  and  following  their  law. 
Those  who  disobeyed  them  were  shortly  overtaken 
by  the  judgment,  and  perished  :  while  the  prophet 
and  his  followers  escaped. 

Into  this  scheme  the  histories  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment are  worked.  Moses,  e.  g.,  was  sent  to  Pharaoh, 
a  King  of  Egypt,  who  had  for  colleagues  or  ministers 
Haman  and  Corah.  Pharaoh  had  divided  his  people 
into  castes,  one  of  which  oppressed  the  other.  Moses 
comes  claiming  to  be  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of 
the  world.  Pharaoh  desires  him  to  prove  his  claim 
by  a  sign,  which  he  does.  Pharaoh  refuses  to  be- 
lieve, and  in  consequence  is  drowned  with  his  host, 
whereas  the   oppressed  caste  who   followed    Moses 

*  Tabari,  Comm.,  viii..  12, 


Publicity  1 3 1 

inherit  the  country.  This  is  the  framework  of  the 
story  of  Moses  as  Mohammed  first  grasped  it.  Fur- 
ther conversation  led  him  to  find  out  rather  more 
of  the  history  of  Moses,  which  he  worked  up  into 
his  peculiar  style,  and  repeatedly  told  ;  at  Medinah 
he  even  learned  a  great  deal  about  the  history  of 
the  children  of  Israel.  But  when  he  had  to  deal 
with  pagans  only,  the  tale  as  told  above  was  what 
he  required. 

The  story  in  certain  cases  makes  the  Prophets 
message  condemnation  of  some  definite  vice.  The 
purpose  of  the  mission  of  Lot  to  Sodom  naturally 
suggests  itself;  a  prophet  named  Shu'aib*  is  sent  to 
Midyan  to  warn  against  deceitful  weights  and  meas- 
ures; the  prophet  Hud  warns  the  people  of  'Ad 
against  pride,  etc.  Most  frequently  the  exhortation 
would  seem  to  have  been  against  polytheism.  Mo- 
hammed identifies  himself  in  thought  with  each  of 
these  prophets  in  turn,  and  in  their  persons  he  over- 
comes the  objections  of  his  opponents.  He,  there- 
fore, in  warning  the  Meccans  of  the  troubles  that 
would  befall  them  could  point  to  all  these  examples. 

It  is  probably  an  error  to  distinguish  this  punish- 
ment very  clearly  from  the  Day  of  Judgment  and 
the  future  world.  To  John  Bunyan  the  two  were 
certainly  not  distinct ;  the  consumption  of  the  earth 
by  heavenly  flame  and  the  resurrection  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt  were  sides  of  the  same 
event ;  the  concepts  fade  into  one  another,  like  the 
doctrines   of   Virgil's    inferno.     At   a  later  period 

*  Halevy's  suggestion  that  this  is  a  misreading  of  the  Syriac  form 
of  Jobab  seems  adequate. 


132  Mohammed 

Mohammed  styles  the  banishment  of  his  enemies, 
the  Nadirites,  "  the  beginning  of  the  resurrection  " 
—a  first  instalment  of  the  final  Judgment.*  It  is 
probable  that  Mohammed  wished  the  Meccans  to 
think  that  unless  they  obeyed  him  they  would  be 
swallowed  up  by  the  earth,  or  be  crushed  by  the 
falling  of  the  sky.  And  there  were  at  Meccah  men 
who,  though  true  to  the  rites  of  paganism,  took  a 
philosophical  view  of  the  order  of  events,  and  justly 
ridiculed  any  threat  of  temporal  punishment  for  dis- 
obeying a  Prophet.  Of  the  order  of  events  they 
knew  less  than  the  twentieth  century  knows ;  but 
that  the  moral  conduct  of  mankind  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it  they  were  well  aware.  Hence  they  scorn- 
fully told  him  to  bring  down  the  sky  as  soon  as  he 
pleased,  or  at  any  rate  required  a  date  for  the  ex- 
hibition. Finding  that  no  amount  of  threats  caused 
nature  to  vary  her  course,  the  Prophet  ingeniously 
declared  that  his  presence  in  Meccah  prevented  the 
calamity  ;  or  that  the  experience  of  Allah  with  other 
cities  which  had  failed  to  be  convinced  by  mira- 
cles was  what  prevented  him  from  sending  one  by 
Mohammed,  f 

For  indeed  a  criticism  to  which  the  stories  of 
Moses,  etc.,  gave  rise  was  that  Mohammed  provided 
no  miracle.  Moses  at  the  start  had  been  armed  with 
a  whole  stock  of  miracles  ;  and  though  not  every 
prophet  appears  to  have  been  thus  furnished,  there 
was  no  question  of  it  in  the  leading  cases  of  Moses 
and  "  'Isa,"  who  made  live  sparrows  out  of  clay,  and 

*  Surah  lix. ,  2. 
f  J  bid.  xvii.,  61. 


/E.     EARLY  MOSLEM  COIN. 
(Bodleian  Library.)     Cf.  Lane-Poole, 
Or.  Coins  of  the  British  Museum,  i., 
p.  174,  4. 


AR.     COIN  OF  KHOSROES  II.,  WITH 

MOSLEM  FORMULA  ADDED, 

(Bodleian  Library.) 


AV.    COIN  OF  HERACLIUS  I.  AND 
HERACLIUS   CONSTANTINE. 
(Bodleian  Library.)     Cf.  Sabatier, 
Monnaies  Byzantines,  pi.  xxix.,  18. 


AR.    COIN  OF  KHOSROES  II. 
(Bodleian  Library.)     Cf.  Longp^rier, 
Dynastie  Sassanide%  pi.  xi.,  4. 


/€.     MOSLEM  IMITATION  OF  COIN  OF 
HERACLIUS,  STRUCK  AT  EMESA. 
(Bodleian  Library.)     Cf.  Lane-Poole, 

Or.  Coins  0/  the  British  Museum,  ix., 

p.  6. 


Publicity  133 

performed  various  miracles  of  healing.  It  is  worth 
noticing,  in  order  to  transfer  ourselves  into  a  region 
of  thought  so  different  from  that  of  modern  times, 
that  none  of  the  miraculous  stories  in  the  Bible 
or  out  of  it  appears  to  have  been  received  by  Mo- 
hammed with  the  semblance  of  a  doubt :  hence  he 
repeated  those  tales  in  perfectly  good  faith  ;  thereby 
laying  himself  open  to  this  serious  objection  to  his 
own  mission.  The  miracle  which  would  have  pleased 
the  Meccans  best  would  have  been  some  decided  im- 
provement in  the  physical  condition  of  Meccah,  espe- 
cially the  production  of  a  perennial  river  *  ;  but  the 
appearance  of  an  angel,  or  even  supernatural  sus- 
tenance provided  to  the  Prophet,  would  have  satis- 
fied them  :  or,  like  the  relations  of  Dives,  they  would 
have  wished  to  seethe  founder  of  the  tribe — Kusayy, 
son  of  Kilab, — rise  from  the  dead  and  testify  to  Mo- 
hammed's veracity.  Or  they  would  have  gladly  seen 
Mount  Safa  turned  into  gold.f  Only  on  one  occasion 
does  he  appear  to  have  been  induced  to  venture  on 
a  prophecy — the  famous  declaration  that  though  the 
Greeks  had  been  defeated  by  the  Persians  "  in  the 
nearest  part  of  the  earth,"  they  would  yet  again  be 
victorious.  The  interest  of  the  prophecy  for  us  is 
that  it  gives  us  a  date  for  a  Meccan  Surah  of  the 
Koran ;  according  to  the  tradition  the  Meccans  at 
this  time  favoured  the  Persians  and  the  Moslems 
the  Greeks;  and  the  prophecy  was  occasioned  by 
the  gratification  of  the  Meccans  at  the  victory  of 
Chosroes  over  the  nearer   East  in  616.     Abu  Bakr 

*Ishak,  185. 

f  Afusnad,  i.,  243. 


ai 


134  Mohammed 

seems  to  have  made  the  mistake  of  betting  that  it 
would  be  fulfilled  within  five  years,  *  and  to  have  lost 
in  consequence.  The  guess  was  not  an  unnatural  one 
to  hazard  :  and  the  ambiguity  of  the  Arabic  script 
rendered  it  as  safe  as  the  Delphic  communication  of 
Crcesus.  f 

Many  years  had  to  elapse  before  he  could  tri- 
umphantly meet  the  demand  for  a  miracle :  the 
battle  of  Badr,  when  three  hundred  Moslems  de- 
feated twice  the  number  of  Unbelievers,  was  alleged 
as  a  miracle  at  last.  Before  that  he  had  to  make 
shift  with  the  Koran.  If  he  had  no  miraculous 
power  he  could  reply  that  he  had  miraculous  know- 
ledge. He  had  previously  been  unable  to  read  or 
write  and  now  he  could  do  both.  He  had  not  been 
present  at  the  scenes  of  ancient  history  which  he 
described,  and  lo  and  behold,  he  knew  them.  If  the 
genuineness  of  his  narrations  were  disputed,  the  peo- 
ple who  knew — i.  e.,  the  Jews  and  Christians — would 
attest  them.  Finally  when  the  Prophet  had  become 
perfect  in  his  own  peculiar  style  he  could  boast  that 
no  one  without  divine  aid  could  compose  so  well. 
Let  all  mankind,  with  the  aid  of  the  Jinn,  try  to  pro- 
duce ten  Surahs,  or  even  one,  and  they  would  fail.J 

The  criticisms  on  these  assertions  were  numerous 
and  powerful.     The  reading  and  writing  miracle  was 


*  Musnad,  i.,  276. 

f  Compare  Riley s  remarks  on  Joseph  Smith's  prophecy  of  the 
American  Civil  War,  /.  c,  p.  184. 

%  Similarly  Joseph  Smith,  rebuking  one  of  his  associates  :  "  William 
E.  McLellin,  the  wisest  man,  in  his  own  estimation,  endeavoured  to 
write  a  commandment  like  unto  one  of  the  least  of  the  Lord's,  but 
failed."    Riley,  p.  322. 


Publicity  135 

probably  not  urged,  because  the  Prophet  was  never 
an  adept  at  either ;  but  to  the  miraculous  character 
of  both  the  matter  and  the  style  of  the  Koran  ex- 
ception was  repeatedly  taken.  If  the  Prophet  told 
stories  to  be  found  in  the  Christian  and  Jewish 
books,  his  opponents  declared  that  there  were  peo- 
ple who  taught  him  and  they  even  undertook  to 
name  his  mentor.  It  is  not  in  our  power  to  say 
with  precision  whether  this  charge  was  just  or  not : 
the  facts  that  have  been  stated  in  the  last  chapter  are 
rather  against  the  theory  of  a  mentor.  But  whether 
there  was  a  mentor  or  not,  probably  the  stories  were 
not  altogether  new  to  the  Meccans,  who  in  the 
course  of  business  or  pleasure  had  come  into  contact 
with  Jews  and  Christians  and  had  heard  allusions  to 
the  subjects.  Hence  these  Acts  of  the  Prophets^ 
were  termed  "  Stories  of  the  Ancients,"  or  perhap* 
"  Old  Wives'  Fables,"  which  it  required  no  divine  ii 
terposition  to  reproduce.  One  man,  Al-Nadir  Ibn 
Harith,  accepted  the  challenge  to  produce  anything 
as  good,  and  either  versified  or  put  into  rhyme  the 
tales  of  the  Persian  kings  which  Firdausi  some  four 
centuries  later  rendered  immortal — or  perhaps  those 
of  the  kings  of  Hirah.  These  "  surahs  "  he  read  out 
at  stances  similar  to  those  in  which  the  Prophet  pub- 
lished the  Koran.  The  effect  of  this  criticism  must 
have  been  very  damaging ;  for  when  the  Prophet  at 
the  battle  of  Badr  got  the  man  into  his  power,  he 
executed  him  at  once,  while  he  allowed  the  other 
prisoners  to  be  ransomed. 

A  further  objection  to  the  Koran  was  that  it  was  re- 
vealed in  portions  or  parcels,  as  occasion  required ;  if 


1 36  Mohammed 

really  copied  from  "  a  well-guarded  tablet,"  why  could 
it  not  have  been  produced  in  a  final  edition  once  for 
all  ?  The  reason  given  by  the  Prophet  was  his  own 
personal  comfort  or  convenience*  ;  and  similarly  we 
find  that  Joseph  Smith,  having  published  his  Book  of 
Mormon  as  a  volume,  was  compelled  to  supplement  it 
from  time  to  time  with  occasional  revelations.  The 
theory  of  the  "  well-guarded  tablet  •■  appears  to  have 
been  more  useful  to  later  generations  of  theologians 
than  to  the  Prophet  himself.  It  was  as  a  living  well 
of  revelation  that  he  won  the  reverence  of  his  fol- 
lowers :  not  as  one  who  had  access  to  an  otherwise 
inaccessible  book. 

Doubtless  as  the  debate  between  Mohammed  and 
the  Meccans  continued,  the  critical  powers  of  the  lat- 
ter were  greatly  sharpened,  and  their  attention  was 
called  to  a  variety  of  matters  on  which  they  had 
not  previously  speculated.  The  Meccans  were  con- 
stantly taunted  with  having  no  sacred  book  or  au- 
thority which  they  could  cite  for  their  practice, 
whereas  Mohammed  could  quote  his  revelation  for 
the  Moslem  precepts.f  Inquiries  were  made  into 
the  character  of  other  sacred  books,  which,  it  was 
discovered,  were  mainly  in  dead  and  sacred  lan- 
guages :  some  notions  were  obtained  as  to  the  quali- 
fications and  character  of  persons  who  were  supposed 
to  deliver  supernatural  messages,  and  inquiries  were 
suggested  concerning  the  lives  of  persons  whose 
names  were  known  among  the  Jews  and  Christians. 
Ibn  Ishak  has  a  story  to  the  effect  that  the  Meccans 

*  Surah  xvii.,  107. 

f  See  especially  Surah  vi.,  145,  6. 


Publicity  137 

sent  two  envoys  to  Medinah  to  get  the  opinion  of 
the  Jews  there,  who  suggested  three  questions  which 
Mohammed  was  to  answer  if  he  were  to  show  him- 
self a  true  Prophet.  According  to  the  biographer, 
Mohammed  undertook  to  answer  the  questions  in  a 
day,  and  was  unable  to  do  so  until  a  fortnight  had 
elapsed,  a  fact  which  confirms  the  theory  of  the 
mentor  very  strongly,  which  is  scarcely  weakened 
by  the  advice  given  in  the  Surah  to  the  Prophet  to 
consult  no  one.  *  Since,  however,  the  questions 
concerned  the  Seven  Sleepers  and  Alexander  the 
Great,  we  may  be  sure  that  they  were  not  suggested 
by  Jews. 

The  Koran  bears  traces  of  criticisms  which  his 
answers  to  these  questions  occasioned.  Mohammed 
clearly  made  a  mistake  in  the  number  of  the  Sleep- 
ers; in  a  later  edition  of  the  Surah,  while  adhering 
to  the  number  which  he  had  originally  given,  he 
acknowledged  that  there  were  various  opinions  on 
the  subject,  but  declared  that  God  must  know  best. 
Another  statement  which  had  to  be  corrected  was 
that  what  is  worshipped  will  be  punished  as  well  as 
the  worshipper — a  doctrine  learned  from  a  Rabbin- 
ical Midrash.  An  ingenious  Meccan  argued  that 
Jesus  would  be  among  the  lost  in  that  case.  A  fresh 
revelation  came  to  give  the  necessary  exception,  f 

One  who  knew  mankind  less  profoundly  than  Mo- 
hammed would  probably  have  been  induced  by  fear 
of  this  sort  of  criticism  to  have  recourse  to  study  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  errors.     But  Moham- 

*  Surah  xviii.,  22. 
f  Ishak,  237. 


138  Mohammed 

med  knew  that  accuracy  and  scholarship  were  of  no 
use  for  such  an  enterprise  as  his.  The  persons  who 
were  prepared  to  believe  in  the  Revelation  were  not 
likely  to  be  affected  by  the  clearest  refutation  of  the 
errors  of  the  Koran.  The  danger  to  be  feared  from 
reliance  on  any  living  authority  was  far  greater  than 
that  which  could  arise  from  the  most  demonstrable 
misstatements  concerning  ancient  history.  Unhesi- 
tating assertion  and  assurance  would  win  respect  from 
Abu  Bakr  and  the  like,  and  be  supported  by  them 
against  all  the  learning  of  the  "  People  of  the  Book," 
if  that  could  be  produced  on  the  other  side.  There 
was,  however,  at  this  period  some  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing it ;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  "  People  of  the 
Book"  were  on  Mohammed's  side. 

On  the  doctrines  as  opposed  to  the  history  of  the 
Koran  many  criticisms  are  recorded,  such  as  free- 
thinking  persons  would  naturally  make.  The  doctrine 
of  the  future  life  could  not  be  dissociated  by  Mo- 
hammed from  that  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
against  which  there  are  some  very  obvious  objections. 
The  pagans  had  believed  in  some  sort  of  "  survival 
of  human  personality,"  but  the  notion  of  the  recon- 
struction of  the  decayed  body  seemed  to  them  in  the 
highest  degree  absurd,  and  Mohammed's  promise  of 
heavenly  spouses  occasioned  mirth.*  Mohammed 
was  asked  to  prove  his  point  by  bringing  them  their 
deceased  ancestors.  His  only  reply  was  the  sophism 
that  the  resurrection  of  the  body  was  not  more  won- 
derful than  its  original  formation — a  process  which  he 
is  never  weary  of  describing.  This,  of  course,  may 
*  Wakidi{W.\  131. 


Publicity  1 39 

be  so,  but  the  pagans  probably  thought  that  this 
argument  left  the  matter  precisely  where  it  was. 

We  must,  however,  acknowledge  his  wisdom  in 
adhering  to  this  doctrine.  His  most  effective  ser- 
mons were,  as  we  have  seen,  descriptions  of  torture 
and  enjoyment,  both  of  which  require  and  imply  the 
possession  of  bodily  organs.  He  did  not  hesitate 
therefore  to  assert  that  the  body  would  be  restored 
for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  and  suffering;  and  even 
provided  for  the  danger  that  suffering  might  con- 
sume the  body,  by  the  declaration  that  it  would  be 
renewed  repeatedly  in  order  to  suffer  continuously. 
These  descriptions  were  not  indeed  without  careless 
statements  which  gave  rise  to  ribald  criticisms ;  of 
which,  if  no  other  explanation  was  forthcoming,  he 
could  say  that  the  purpose  had  been  to  test  the  faith 
of  believers,  *  to  see,  as  we  might  put  it,  how  much 
they  would  be  prepared  to  accept.  Or,  if  the  im- 
prudence committed  had  been  too  considerable,  the 
verse  could  be  withdrawn.  To  do  this,  withdraw  a 
revelation  and  substitute  another  for  it,  was,  he  as- 
serted, well  within  the  power  of  God.  Doubtless  it 
was,  but  so  obviously  within  the  power  of  man  that 
it  is  to  us  astonishing  how  so  compromising  a 
procedure  can  have  been  permitted  to  be  introduced 
into  the  system  by  friends  and  foes. 

Of  the  mode  in  which  the  doctrine  of  the  future 
life  produced  conversions  we  have  some  anecdotes 
which  may  well  be  true.  'Amr  Ibn  Al-'Asif  professed 
to  have  been  converted  by  the  arguments  of  one  who 

*  Joseph  Smith  used  the  same  plea  at  times, 
f  Isabah. 


140  Mohammed 

asked  him  whether  the  Meccans  were  or  were  not 
better  than  the  Byzantines  and  Persians.  He  replied 
naturally  that  the  Meccans  were  better.  The  next 
question  was  whether  the  Meccans  were  better  off 
than  those  other  nations.  He  had  to  reply  that 
they  were  worse  off.  Being  therefore  surpassed  in 
this  world,  if  their  superiority  were  to  display  itself, 
it  must  be  in  another  world.  But  who  knew  about 
such  another  world  save  Mohammed  ?  This  argu- 
ment sank  in  his  mind  ;  but  he  waited  to  join  Mo- 
hammed till  Fortune  had  definitely  declared  herself 
on  the  Prophet's  side.  His  former  allies  noticed  his 
growing  coolness,  and  finally  he  abandoned  them. 

Another  controversy  which  occasioned  Moham- 
med some  difficulty  was  that  old  one  of  free-will  and 
determinism.  The  description  in  the  Koran  of  the 
omnipotence  of  God  led  to  the  belief  that  men's  acts 
were  God's  acts,  whence  the  worship  of  idols  might 
be  regarded  as  willed  by  God,  and  the  idolators 
freed  from  blame.  Mohammed  was  fortunately  too 
little  of  a  philosopher  to  perceive  the  rigidity  of  this 
consequence,  and  the  Koran  answers  this  objection 
as  it  answers  others.  Owing  however  to  his  repeated 
declarations  on  the  subject  of  appointed  terms,  and 
events  designed  by  God,  the  opinion  that  he  was 
a  fatalist  has  gained  ground  ;  traditions  were  in- 
vented in  which  he  positively  asserted  that  human 
action  was  all  arranged  beforehand  without  the 
possibility  of  innovation,*  and  indeed  many  of  the 
phenomena  of  Islam  are  explained  on  this  supposi- 
tion.    The  fact  is  that  his  mind  was  not  of  a  sort  to 


*  Jlfusnad,  iv. ,  67 ,  etc. 


Publicity  141 

which  contradictory  propositions  occasion  any  diffi- 
culty. When  discontented  subjects  urged  that  if 
their  friends  had  stayed  at  home  instead  of  going  to 
war  they  would  not  have  been  killed,  he  could 
assert  with  the  conviction  of  common-sense  that 
those  who  were  destined  to  die  on  a  certain  day 
would  have  died  on  that  day  in  any  case ;  but  with 
equal  common-sense  he  could  warn  men  of  the 
consequences  which  would  follow  according  to  the 
course  which  they  took.  The  Islamic  controversy 
on  this  subject  belongs  to  a  later  age — one  in  which 
the  works  of  Aristotle  had  begun  to  influence  the 
thinkers  of  Baghdad. 

Thus  then  the  years  of  the  Meccan  controversy 
rolled  on  ;  in  which  the  parties  increased  in  vehem- 
ence and  antagonism,  and  in  which  the  success- 
ful polemics  of  the  Meccans  on  the  new  religion 
were  met  by  ridicule  and  refutation  of  the  religious 
notions  current  among  the  pagans.  As  has  been 
said,  the  Meccan  side  is  known  only  from  the  state- 
ments of  the  adversary,  whose  acquaintance  with 
the  Meccan  religion  may  not  have  been  deep.  If  his 
statements  were  to  be  trusted,  we  should  fancy  the 
Meccans  to  have  been  very  near  monotheism.  We 
should  infer  that  Allah  was  the  national  God,  to 
whom  they  appealed  in  any  trouble,  whereas  in 
times  of  comfort  and  quiet  they  slid  back  into  poly- 
theism. We  should  suppose  that  they  recognised 
Allah  as  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  as- 
signed the  other  deities  quite  subordinate  functions. 
"  How  many  deities  do  you  worship?"  Mohammed 
is  supposed  to  have  asked  a  Khuza'ite  (Hasin,  son  of 


142  Mohammed 

'Ubaid),*  sent  to  reason  with  him  by  the  Kurashites. 
"  Seven  on  earth  and  one  in  heaven,"  was  the  reply, 
and  further  conversation  elicited  the  confession  that 
in  all  serious  trouble  the  God  of  heaven  (Allah)  only 
was  invoked.  And  doubtless  to  other  followers  Mo- 
hammed's innovation  appeared  to  lie  in  the  merging 
of  all  minor  cults  in  that  of  the  heaven  God.  At 
a  later  time  the  chief  of  the  tribe  Muzainah,  who 
broke  the  idol  Nahum,  declared  in  his  verse  that  he 
henceforth  worshipped  the  God  of  heaven.  \  A 
Thakafite  convert  (from  Ta'if,  twin  city  to  Meccah) 
asked  Mohammed  whether  he  should  keep  a  vow 
made  before  conversion ;  since  questioning  elicited 
the  fact  that  the  vow  had  been  made  to  Allah,  not 
to  an  idol,  Mohammed  declared  that  it  should  be 
kept.  % 

The  above  assumptions  are  frequently  required  for 
the  reasoning  of  the  Koran  and  are  unhesitatingly 
made.  The  Meccans  are  taunted  with  worshipping 
additional  deities  who,  being  feminine,  are  called 
Allah's  daughters,  and  who  are  identified  by  them 
with  the  Christian  angels.  These  beings,  though 
theoretically  inferior  to  Allah,  are  said  to  receive 
a  larger  share  in  the  offerings.  Naturally  we  cannot 
implicitly  trust  a  case  as  stated  by  the  adversary ; 
and  it  is  even  permissible  to  suppose  that  the  Meccan 
worship  of  Allah  consisted  of  no  more  than  a  belief 
in  the  power  of  the  God  worshipped  by  Jews  and 
Christians;    but   the   statements  that   the   Meccan 


*  Isabak,  i.,  692. 

\lHd.y  i.,  874. 

%Ibid.,  iii.,  581  ;  Mttsnad,  iii.,  419, 


Publicity  143 

deities  were  daughters  of  Allah  and  worshipped  as 
intercessors  may  have  been  ventured  in  the  course  of 
the  argument  with  Mohammed,  when  perhaps  for 
the  first  time  the  Meccan  reasoners  began  to  reflect 
on  the  nature  of  their  religion.*  Yet  difficulties  as- 
sail us  at  every  turn.  The  theory  that  Allah  had 
daughters  is  refuted  by  the  statement  that  a  daugh- 
ter is  regarded  as  a  misfortune,  so  that  if  Allah  had 
children  at  all,  he  would  certainly  have  had  sons  in- 
stead ;  implying  that  this  theory  of  the  children 
of  Allah  did  not  apply  to  the  male  deities,  which 
however  the  Meccans  as  well  as  other  Arab  tribes 
are  known  to  have  worshipped.  We  fancy  that 
this  argument  about  daughters  brought  on  Moham- 
med some  well-deserved  taunts  about  having  only 
daughters  himself;  and  indeed  a  Surah  is  revealed 
endeavouring  to  console  him  and  clear  him  of  the 
charge  of  being  abtar  or  sonless. 

From  some  texts  f  and  traditions  we  should 
gather  that  the  Meccan  objection  was  not  to  the 
glorification  of  Allah,  but  to  the  identification  of 
their  familiar  deity  with  him  whom  the  Jews  called 
Rahman  (the  Merciful),  a  title  applied  to  pagan 
deities  also.  But  the  reason  of  this  objection  lies 
beyond  our  reach. 

In  estimating  the  arguments  of  the  Koran  with 
the  Meccans  we  must  constantly  remember  that 
Mohammed  is  playing  the  part  of  a  Hebrew  Prophet, 
recalling  his  countrymen  to  the  sole  worship  of  the 
national  God,  whose  rites  have  been  abandoned  for 

*  So  Wdlhausen,  Reste,  208. 
f  So  Surah  xvii.,  no. 


144  Mohammed 

other  and  idolatrous  cults.  That  part  he  may  in- 
deed have  sincerely  believed  himself  to  be  playing ; 
and  in  the  scene  as  he  represents  it,  he  probably  as- 
signed corresponding  roles  to  his  antagonists.  But  if 
the  paganism  of  Meccah  really  came  so  near  mono- 
theism as  the  Koran  represents  it,  it  is  clear  that 
with  a  little  good-will  and  candour  the  differences 
of  detail  might  have  been  made  up. 

Those  qualities,  however,  were  not  present.  As 
the  controversy  progressed,  there  arose  among  the 
Meccans  a  personal  dislike  of  Mohammed  which 
to  us  does  not  seem  unintelligible.  Although  the 
later  myths  represent  him  as  a  member  of  a  noble 
family,  the  Koran  confesses  that  this  was  not  so  : 
if  the  Meccans  were  to  be  reformed,  they  would  have 
preferred  being  reformed  by  a  man  of  rank  either 
of  Meccah  or  of  Ta'if.  Political  and  religious  head- 
ship could  not  be  separated  :  and  they  were  not  pre- 
pared to  see  Mohammed  at  the  head  of  the  state. 

Hence  the  debate  went  on,  not  to  be  settled 
till  more  powerful  weapons  than  words  had  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  it.  Though  Mohammed's 
life  was  spared,  he  had,  apparently,  to  put  up  with 
much  rudeness,  and  occasionally  even  with  personal 
violence.  As  he  prostrated  himself  in  his  newly 
invented  ceremony  of  prayers,  some  one  threw  some 
camel's  refuse  over  his  back,  and  probably  similar 
insults  were  not  uncommon.  The  persons  on  whom 
the  Prophet  invoked  curses  were  four, — Abu  Jahl, 
'Utbah,  son  of  Rabi'ah,  Shaibah,  son  of  Rabi'ah, 
Umayyah,  son  of  Khalef.  Legends  were  afterwards 
invented  showing  how  all  who  either  injured  the 


Publicity  145 

Prophet  or  mocked  at  the  Koran  were  divinely 
punished.  During  the  vicissitudes  of  this  period, 
its  successes  and  failures,  conquests  and  rebuffs, 
the  Koran  served  as  the  Prophet's  faithful  confidant 
— like  Lucilius,  thither  he  would  recur  whether  he 
were  doing  well  or  badly.  In  it  he  records — or  lets 
Allah  record  for  him — the  sayings  and  doings  of  his 
enemies,  his  own  chagrin  and  despondency,  and  the 
reflections  wherewith  he  is  consoled.  Were  its 
verses  only  dated,  we  should  know  his  state  of  mind 
from  day  to  day,  in  the  years  which  witnessed  the 
struggling  of  Islam  into  the  light.  But  even  during 
these  years  Apollo  was  not  always  drawing  his  bow. 
Much  of  the  Koran  is  not  polemical,  but  homiletic 
or  narrative.  Whatever  fragments  of  the  Old  or 
New  Testament,  of  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  of 
the  Sayings  of  the  Jewish  Fathers,  or  of  ordinary 
folklore  happened  to  be  in  the  Prophet's  memory 
were  regarded  by  him  as  suitable  matter  for  the 
Koran.  He  does  not  often  venture  to  quote  his 
sources  by  name ;  in  exceptional  cases  he  men- 
tions that  some  sentiment  or  other  is  ''written  by 
Us  "  in  the  Psalms  of  David  or  the  Law  of  Moses : 
and  in  quite  early  passages  the  Rolls  of  Abraham 
and  Moses  are  cited.  The  name  of  the  Law  appears 
to  have  been  learned  by  him  in  the  course  of  con- 
troversy;  and  there  is  some  probability  that  the 
"Sayings  of  the  Fathers"  called  by  the  Jews  Pera- 
kim  lie  hidden  in  the  name  of  a  sacred  book  which 
he  calls  Furkan. 

At  times  his  homilies   are   somewhat   like  those 
to  be  heard    from   modern    pplpits,   in   which    a 


1 46  Mohammed 

preacher  tells  a  biblical  story,  adding  some  detail 
from  his  fancy  and  amplifying  or  explaining  on  the 
way.  The  story  which  is  told  at  greatest  length 
and  with  most  continuity  is  that  of  Joseph — that 
famous  biblical  romance  which  Eastern  Christians 
never  tired  of  versifying  or  re-telling  in  a  variety 
of  ways.  Once  or  twice,  too,  he  recollects  enough 
of  the  Bible  to  be  able  to  tell  the  history  of  Moses 
and  Aaron  with  an  approach  to  accuracy.  A  story 
of  Moses  and  a  prophet  whom  the  Moslems  identify 
with  Elijah  seems  to  be  a  conflation  of  a  number 
of  anecdotes  about  different  persons.  Of  several 
heroes  he  knows  the  story  but  is  unable  to  give 
names :  this  is  notably  the  case  with  Dhu'1-Kar- 
nain,  who  is  doubtless  Alexander  the  Great.  But  of 
the  greater  number  of  biblical  and  other  heroes  his 
knowledge  is  clearly  meagre  in  the  extreme.  He 
knows  of  Solomon's  acquaintance  with  the  Jinn  and 
with  the  Queen  of  Sheba — this  story,  as  being  con- 
nected with  Arabia,  was  doubtless  familiar  even  to 
some  of  the  Meccans;  his  knowledge  of  it,  however, 
comes  from  Jewish  story-tellers,  not  from  the  Bible. 
We  should  have  expected  him  to  know  of  Solomon's 
judgment,*  being  a  narrative  of  a  style  which  would 
have  suited  him  ;  evidently  he  had  not  heard  of  it, 
but  had  heard  of  David  and  Nathan,  though  he  has 
very  seriously  misstated  the  episode.  Of  Penelope's 
web  he  had  also  heard,  but  the  Arabs,  who  find  a 
native  Penelope,  had  not. 

Ingenuity  has  been  well  spent  in  discovering  the 
sources  of  the  Koran,  and  the  amount  that  is  of  un- 


Knowledge  of  it  is  ascribed  to  him  in  the  Tradition. 


Publicity  147 

certain  origin  is  not  large.  Probably  the  author 
should  not  be  denied  to  possess  some  felicity  of 
expression,  some  exuberance  of  fancy,  and  even 
some  poetical  sublimity.  If,  to  us,  the  repetitions 
in  the  Koran  seem  intolerable,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  men  who  have  impressed  the  world 
most  are  those  who  have  always  been  saying  the 
same  about  the  same  things.  Napoleon  said  there 
is  only  one  rhetorical  figure  of  serious  importance 
and  that  is  repetition.*  Just  as  the  hearers  of 
Socrates  were  prepared  to  be  told  or  questioned 
about  the  tailor  and  the  shoemaker,  so  the  hearers 
of  Mohammed  could  not  hear  too  often  the  tales  of 
'Ad  and  Thamud,  or  the  legends  of  Abraham  and 
Lot. 

In  some  cases  the  Surahs  appear  to  be  merely 
the  product  of  an  exuberant  and  poetical  fancy,  to 
which  it  can  only  be  regretted  that  theological  value 
should  have  ever  been  assigned.  Such  a  Surah  is  the 
narrative  of  the  Jinn  listening  to  his  preaching  and 
being  converted  ;  they  profess  horror  at  the  blas- 
phemies of  the  idolators ;  they  acknowledge  that 
the  shooting  stars  are  now  driving  them  away  from 
the  heavenly  councils  where  they  used  to  listen. 
This  Surah  is  a  pleasing  effusion,  to  be  compared 
with  Horace's  account  of  his  vision  of  Pan,  whose 
followers,  the  spirits  of  the  woods,  are  not  very  un- 
like the  Jinn,  who  were  spirits  of  the  desert.  Such, 
too,  was  the  lost  Surah  in  which  the  Prophet  de- 
scribed his  nocturnal  visit  to  Jerusalem,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  gave  offence,  and  was  withdrawn. 


*Lebon,  Crowds,  p.  126. 


148  Mohammed 

But,  besides  the  recitation  of  the  Koran,  to  which 
direct  descent  from  heaven  was  ascribed,  there  were 
utterances  of  the  Prophet  called  "  The  Wisdom," 
which  were  only  made  infallible  at  a  later  time 
through  logical  necessity.  These  were  nearer  the 
modern  sermon  in  that  their  delivery  was  neither 
accompanied  nor  preceded  by  the  signs  of  posses- 
sion ;  and  they  appear  to  have  consisted  of  aphor- 
isms on  a  variety  of  subjects,  of  which  conduct  was 
perhaps  the  chief.  The  writing  down  of  this  table- 
talk  was  forbidden  by  the  Prophet,  and  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  matter  which  is  ascribed  to  him  we 
cannot  be  sure  that  as  much  as  a  tenth  was  actually 
said  by  him.  At  times,  however,  the  reports  of 
this  table-talk  circulated  and  gave  rise  to  criticisms 
no  more  sparing  than  those  which  the  Koran  called 
forth.  Occasionally,  too,  the  Koran  makes  allusions 
to  the  Prophet's  sayings,  when  their  author  had 
special  reason  to  be  gratified  with  them.  Large  num- 
bers of  the  dicta  ascribed  to  him  are  aphorisms,  pithy 
sayings  either  about  himself  or  others,  such  as  that 
the  three  things  about  which  he  cared  were  scent, 
women,  and  prayer ;  or  formulae  in  which  he  sum- 
marised the  theological  view  which  for  the  moment 
dominated  his  mind,  as  that  a  man's  heart  is  be- 
tween two  of  God's  fingers,  to  be  turned  whither 
God  will,  or  that  every  new-born  child  is  attacked  by 
Satan,  and  cries  in  consequence.  "When  a  man  dies 
three  follow  him,  but  only  one  stays  with  him :  he 
is  followed  by  his  family,  his  property,  and  his 
works ;  his  works  abide,  and  the  rest  return."  * 
+  Bokhari,  iv.,  81. 


Publicity  149 

"Three  things  gladden  the  eye  of  the  gazer:  green 
fields,  running  water,  and  fair  faces."* 

Of  any  moralising  or  demoralising  effect  which 
Mohammed's  teaching  had  upon  his  followers,  we 
cannot  speak  with  precision.  When  he  was  at  the 
head  of  a  robber  community  it  is  probable  that  the 
demoralising  influence  began  to  be  felt ;  it  was  then 
that  men  who  had  never  broken  an  oath  learnt  that 
they  might  evade  their  obligations,f  and  that  men 
to  whom  the  blood  of  the  clansmen  had  been  as 
their  own  began  to  shed  it  with  impunity  in  the 
cause  of  God ;  and  that  lying  and  treachery  in  the 
cause  of  Islam  received  divine  approval,  hesita- 
tion to  perjure  oneself  in  that  cause  being  repre- 
hended as  a  weakness.  %  It  was  then,  too,  that 
Moslems  became  distinguished  by  the  obscenity  of 
their  language.  §  It  was  then,  too,  that  the  coveting 
of  goods  and  wives  (possessed  by  Unbelievers)  was 
avowed  without  discouragement  from  the  Prophet. 
Yet  it  was  then,  too,  that  the  theory  of  mutual  obli- 
gations between  the  members  of  the  Moslem  brother- 
hood became  clearly  evolved,  and  the  morality  which 
is  necessary  for  the  existence  of  the  state  was  most 
earnestly  enforced.  At  Meccah,  however,  it  is  not 
likely  that  these  developments  showed  themselves. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
Moslems  were  either  in  personal  or  altruistic  moral- 
ity better  than  the  pagans,  though  persons  who  had 

*  Schol.  Hariri,  492. 

\  Bokhari,  iv.,  90  ;  Musnad,  iv.,  256. 

\  Musnad,  iv.,  79. 

§  Ishak,  433,  744  ;  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  116,  13. 


1 50  Mohammed 

been  successful  traders  before  conversion  found  their 
new  life  incompatible  with  business.  *  Liquor  was 
not  yet  forbidden,  and  even  in  Medinah  we  find 
Mohammed's  uncle  savage  from  drink,  while  an  or- 
dinance that  Believers  were  not  to  pray  when  in  a 
state  of  intoxication,  for  fear  they  should  maul  their 
prayers,  implies  that  intoxication  was  no  uncommon 
state  for  Believers  to  be  found  in.f  The  suppres- 
sion of  gambling  was  also  a  measure  of  the  Medinah 
period  ;  but  since  the  gambling  practised  at  Meccah 
was  probably  a  religious  ceremony,  it  is  likely  that 
the  adoption  of  monotheism  prevented  the  Believers 
from  taking  part  in  it.  Of  improvements  in  sexual 
morality  it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  precision ;  it  is 
probable  that  prostitution  was  already  forbidden  by 
the  Prophet,  though  there  is  reason  for  supposing 
that  it  was  regarded  at  Meccah  somewhat  as  it  has 
been  regarded  at  most  great  capitals :  as  an  offence 
against  decorum,  but  not  as  involving  any  serious 
stigma  on  the  man.  It  was  recorded  in  after  times 
for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  that  "  the  Apostle  " 
Zubair,  son  of  'Awwam,  gave  his  wife  so  sound  a 
beating  that  he  broke  her  arm  J;  and  our  authori- 
ties frequently  entertain  us  with  specimens  of  con- 
jugal bickerings  among  the  converts.  §  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  liability  to  persecu- 
tion under  which  the  Moslems  suffered  led  to  a 
more   stringent   morality  on  their  part   than  they 


*  Abu'l-Darda,  Isabah,  iii.,  89. 
f  Cf.  Musnad,  iii.,  447. 
\  Jahiz,  Mahasin,  235. 
§  So/#»  Sad II.,  ii.,  86. 


Publicity  1 5 1 

had  previously  practised ;  for  it  is  only  so  that  per- 
secuted communities  can  survive  ;  and  the  need  for 
mutual  support  certainly  led  to  some  degree  of 
altruism. 

Further,  Islam  had  the  effect  rightly  emphasised 
by  Wellhausen,  of  making  men  earnest.  The  ex- 
perience of  even  our  own  day  shows  that  revivalistic 
preaching  can  be  highly  effective  in  this  way ;  those 
whom  experience  of  earthly  misery  does  not  affect 
are  often  made  earnest  by  being  threatened  with 
eternal  fire  and  eternal  contempt.  Some  of  the  con- 
verts certainly  wished  to  be  ascetics,  and  were  only 
prevented  by  the  express  admonitions  of  Moham- 
med, who  resolved  to  have  no  monkery  in  Islam. 
Of  one  it  is  recorded  that,  alarmed  by  Mohammed's 
nleclaration  that  the  Day  of  Judgment  was  at  hand, 
he  went  and  sold  his  five  hundred  sheep,  probably 
spending  the  proceeds  in  the  path  of  God.  * 

*  Isabah,  ii.,  128. 


CHAPTER   V 

HISTORY  OF  THE  MECCAN  PERIOD. 

THE  fact  that  Mohammed  kept  his  mission 
secret  as  long  as  possible  shows  that  he  was 
aware  that  it  was  fraught  with  danger.  What 
steps  were  thought  legitimate  at  Meccah  in  the  case 
of  one  who  had  abandoned  the  gods  of  his  country 
we  know  not ;  it  is,  however,  certain  that  the  gods 
suffer  by  the  neglect  of  their  dues,  and  as  they  have 
representatives  on  earth,  some  men  suffer  thereby 
also.  And  since  the  favour  of  the  gods  is  thought 
to  be  necessary  for  the  well-being  of  the  state,  many 
persons  who  have  no  other  commercial  interest  in 
the  matter  are  anxious  to  suppress  heresy  for  fear  of 
offending  their  masters.  From  whatever  motives, 
then,  there  were  many  persons  in  Meccah  from  whom 
Mohammed  anticipated  opposition.  By  the  time 
that  he  was  compelled  to  face  it,  he  was  fairly  well 
entrenched. 

With  perhaps  the  exception  of  Abu  Sufyan,  the 
Meccan  magnates  are  obscure  figures.  When  they 
died  unconverted  tradition  is  silent  about  them ; 
when  they  lived  to  embrace  Islam  it  wilfully  per- 
verts their  biographies.     Abu  Sufyan  probably  was 

152 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  1 53 

not  a  prominent  opponent  till  after  the  battle  of 
Badr,  when  he  headed  the  Meccans  against  Moham- 
med till  the  taking  of  the  city ;  proving  himself 
throughout  the  period  not  altogether  incompetent 
or  wanting  in  energy,  but  intellectually  no  match  for 
the  Prophet.  A  tradition  *  makes  him  one  of  a  party 
of  free-thinkers,  who  had  learned  atheism  from  the 
H  Christians  of  the  Harrah  " :  and  to  his  scepticism 
he  added  loose  morality .f  The  callousness  to  insults 
and  injuries  which  formed  so  remarkable  a  trait  in 
his  son  Mu'awiyah  appears  to  have  characterised  him 
also,  since  we  find  him  employing  as  lieutenant 
Khalid,  son  of  Al-Walid,  whose  brother  had  killed  a 
man  protected  by  Abu  Sufyan,  thereby  causing  the 
death  of  many  Kurashites.  %  Of  Mohammed's  oppon- 
ents before  the  Flight  the  most  prominent  appear  to 
have  been  Abu  Jahl,  or  Abu  '1-Hakam,  son  of  Hisham, 
of  the  tribe  Makhzum  ;  and  the  Prophet's  uncle  Abu 
Lahab  Abd  al-'Uzza.  §  The  former  enjoyed  a  great 
reputation  for  sagacity ;  at  thirty  years  of  age  he 
had  been  admitted  to  the  Council  Chamber,  whereas 
other  Meccans  had  to  wait  till  their  fortieth  year.|| 
The  latter,  like  Abu  Sufyan,  is  said  to  have  been  a 
loose  liver,  involved  among  others  in  the  theft  of 
the  golden  gazelles  placed  in  the  Ka'bah,  which  he 
and  his  companions  melted  down  to  distribute  among 


I*  Lata' if  al-Mctarif,  64. 
f /*/,/.,  63. 
%  Ibn  Duraid,  295. 
§  The  name  means  "father  of  flame,"  and  was  given  him,  it  is 
said,  owing  to  his  red  complexion. 
I  Ibn  Duraid,  97. 


154  Mohammed 

their  singing  women  ;  an  act  for  which  he  would  have 
lost  his  hand,  had  not  the  Khuza  'ah,  to  whom  his 
mother  belonged,  interceded.*  He  professed  great 
devotion  to  the  goddess  Al-'Uzza,f  as  a  speculation, 
however,  on  the  chance  of  her  having  an  existence ; 
ready  to  console  himself,  in  the  other  event,  with 
the  fact  that  her  arch-enemy,  Mohammed,  was  his 
nephew.  These  two  persons  appear,  at  times  at 
least,  to  have  used  violence,  and  the  same  is  asserted 
of  Abdallah,  son  of  Umayyah,  the  Prophet's  cousin ; 
whereas  the  others  who  are  named  seem  to  have 
done  more  to  suppress  rioting  and  brawls  than  to 
have  deliberately  brought  them  on.  The  hands  of 
all  alike  were  tied  by  fear  of  bloodshed  ;  but  in  the 
case  of  humble  converts  they  were  ready  to  come 
very  near  that  limit.  The  persons  whose  accession 
to  Islam  was  most  welcomed  were  men  of  physical 
strength,  and  much  actual  fighting  must  have  taken 
place  at  Meccah  before  the  Flight ;  else  the  readiness 
with  which  the  Moslems  after  the  Flight  could  pro- 
duce from  their  number  tried  champions  would  be 
inexplicable.  A  tried  champion  must  have  been 
tried  somewhere :  and  no  external  fights  are  re- 
corded or  are  even  the  subject  of  an  allusion  for 
this  period.  The  Prophet  himself  is  said  on  one 
occasion  after  reciting  Surah  xxxvi.  to  have  flung 
dust  on  the  heads  of  his  opponents. %  And  the  wise 
principle  of  hitting  back  when  hit  appears  to  have 
characterised  the  new  religion  from  its  start,  and  to 


*  Ibn  Duraid,  76. 

\Azrakit  81. 

\  Wakidi  (W.\  51. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         155 

have  been  the  cause  of  its  speedy  success.  We 
learn  incidentally*  that  the  Prophetic  office  did  not 
prevent  Mohammed  from  continuing  to  work  at  his 
business;  but  those  of  his  followers  who  were  in 
dependent  situations  certainly  lost  them.  Those 
who  like  Khalid,  son  of  Sa  'id,  were  driven  from  their 
homes  by  indignant  parents  had  to  be  fed  at  the 
Prophet's  table.  The  growth  of  the  new  religion 
tended  to  spread  discord  between  families  and  so 
keep  the  city  in  a  state  of  turmoil  and  confusion. 
Those  who  for  any  reason  felt  aggrieved  with  their 
condition  could  gratify  their  ill-will  by  joining  Mo- 
hammed ;  and  some  probably  did  this  in  momentary 
pique.  Desperadoes  of  whom  the  whole  city  was 
ashamed  seem  to  have  been  received  into  the  fold 
of  Islam ;  they  could  then  on  the  strength  of  their 
faith  claim  to  be  better  than  their  neighbours. 

A  measure  which  seems  to  us  both  natural  and 
harmless  was  taken  by  the  Meccans  ;  the  Moslems 
were  kept  out  of  the  Precincts  of  the  Ka'bah. 
When  they  came  there  their  devotions  were  rudely 
interrupted. 

From  personal  violence  the  Prophet  himself  was 
ordinarily  secured  by  the  protection  of  his  relations, 
especially  when  his  uncle,  the  mighty  hunter  Ham- 
zah,  joined  Islam — we  know  not  why  :  one  tradition 
says,  because  of  his  indignation  at  the  insults  inflicted 
on  Mohammed  by  Abu  Jahl;  another  that  he  de- 
manded (like  Philip)  to  be  shown  the  Angel  Gabriel, 
and  with  this  request  Mohammed  complied ;  the 
Angel,   whose    feet    were    of     emerald,   appearing 

*Ishak,  189. 


156  Mohammed 

mounted  on  a  clothes-horse  in  the  Ka'bah.*  If  this 
story  be  true,  we  should  couple  with  it  another, 
presently  to  meet  us,  where  Hamzah  figures  dis- 
gracefully intoxicated.f  Hamzah's  sword  was  de- 
stined to  do  good  service  later  on. 

After  a  time  the  situation  became  intolerable. 
The  resources  of  the  Believers  who  were  independ- 
ent were  insufficient  to  support  the  strain  of  their 
starving  brethren,  nor  was  the  life  of  the  latter  en- 
durable, amid  ceaseless  vexations  and  persecutions. 
A  few,  as  we  learn  from  the  Koran,  fell  away,  though 
the  Prophet  assured  them  that  their  sufferings  were 
slight  compared  with  those  which  monotheists  in  for- 
mer times  had  to  endure.  The  idea  which  so  readily 
occurs,  and  which  has  so  often  proved  the  salvation 
of  persecuted  communities  suggested  itself.  God's 
earth  was  wide,  so  why  should  not  those  who  were 
injured  in  their  native  country  flee  to  another? 
Thus  a  few  generations  ago  the  Mormons,  vexed 
and  persecuted,  fled  to  a  new  land  and  started  a  now 
thriving  colony.  That  the  Moslems  did  not  do  this 
may  be  attributed  to  their  being  essentially  artisans 
and  traders,  accustomed  to  the  handling,  not  to  the 
production,  of  raw  materials.  Moreover,  the  per- 
manent abandonment  of  Meccah  seems  never  to 
have  entered  the  Prophet's  mind,  though  the  mode 
in  which  the  Meccan  sanctuary  was  worked  into  his 
system  was  probably  the  product  of  slow  develop- 


*  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii. ,  6. 

f  Still  it  may  have  been  a  case  of  "hypnotic  hallucination," — the 
mode  whereby  Riley  explains  the  evidence  of  the  three  witnesses 
who  saw  Joseph  Smith's  gold  plates.     Loc.  cit.,  p.  212. 


II 


^    2 

> 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         157 

ment.  Still  a  temporary  refuge  was  clearly  desirable 
and  Mohammed  had  not  to  look  far  to  find  it.  In 
that  country  which  had  sent  effective  aid  to  the 
persecuted  Arabian  Christians  and  which  had  mani- 
fested detestation  of  the  Meccan  idolatry,  Moham- 
med resolved  to  find  a  refuge  for  his  followers,  per- 
haps looking  forward  to  seeing  them  return  at  the 
head  of  an  Abyssinian  army.*  Among  those  with 
whom  he  had  associated  there  had  certainly  been 
Abyssinians,  and  indeed  he  had  himself  most  likely 
visited  the  country,  so  as  to  know  something  of 
its  conditions. 

The  Meccans  were  in  commercial  relations  with 
the  state  of  Axum,  whose  port  Massoua  is  separated 
by  an  easy  journey  from  the  Arabian  coast.  The 
beginnings  of  Christianity  in  that  country  are  lost 
in  obscurity,  and  its  chronicles  up  to  the  Portuguese 
invasion  are  all  fabulous.  But  Greek  authors  attest 
the  Arabian  legend  which  makes  the  Negus  in  the 
sixth  century  send  an  army  to  the  relief  of  the 
persecuted  Christians  in  South  Arabia ;  and  every 
Meccan  child  knew  that  an  Abyssinian  force  had 
been  sent  to  destroy  the  Ka'bah  and  had  been 
miraculously  repelled.  Thither  (in  the  fifth  year 
of  the  mission,  it  is  said)f  the  Moslems  began  to 
slink  away,  probably  in  small  groups,  though  the 
number  of  refugees  reached  in  time  eighty-three 
families.  At  the  head  of  the  list  one  tradition  places 
the  weakly  Othman,  son  of  'Affan,  with  his  wife 
Rukayyah,  Mohammed's  daughter,  whereas  another 

*  This  suggestion  is  made  by  Sir  William  Muir. 
\  Wakidi  in  DhakhaHr  wa  A'laky  204. 


158  Mohammed 

makes  the  first  refugee  a  certain  Hatib,  son  of  'Amr, 
who  occupies  otherwise  no  prominent  place  in  the 
history.  The  remainder  of  the  list  seems  to  include 
nearly  all  the  persons  who  were  enumerated  among 
the  converts.  Ja  'far,  Abu  Talib's  son,  was  one  of. 
the  emigrants.  Abu  Bakr  started  for  Abyssinia,  but 
was  recalled  by  the  promise  of  protection  of  a 
certain  Ibn  Dughunnah.  Abu  Bakr,  however,  per- 
formed his  orisons  with  so  much  ostentation,  and 
thereby  attracted  so  much  attention  that  his  patron 
had  publicly  to  withdraw  his  protection.  In  some 
cases  the  Meccans  endeavoured  to  prevent  the 
flight  of  their  persecuted  brethren :  this  is  recorded 
of  Salamah,  brother  of  Abu  Jahl. 

Little  is  known  of  the  condition  of  the  refugees  in 
Abyssinia.  The  bulk  of  our  information  is  derived 
from  the  narative  of  Umm  Salamah,  wife  of  Abdal- 
lah  Ibn  Abd  al-Asad,  who  afterwards  became  wife  of 
the  Prophet.  Some  of  the  matter  contained  in  this 
narrative  is  certainly  afterthought ;  but  the  employ- 
ment of  some  Ethiopic  words  in  the  speeches  of 
the  King  of  Abyssinia  which  she  records,  seems  evid- 
ence of  authenticity.  How  these  people  lived  in  Abys- 
sinia is  not  known,  nor  do  we  even  know  whether 
they  and  the  Abyssiniarts  were  mutually  intelligible.* 
Their  life  there  was  not  of  a  sort  which  can  have 
been  very  enjoyable,  since  they  all  manifested  great 
anxiety  to  return,  with  the  exception  of  such  as  be- 
came Christians.  One  of  the  refugees  (Asma,  daugh- 
ter of  Unais)  described  it  as  miserable  to  the  last 

*  Interpreters  are  required  between  Abyssinians  and  Arabs,  Nol- 
deke%  Sass.,  220. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  159 

degree.*  Perhaps  they  found  some  menial  employ- 
ments, enabling  them  to  earn  a  livelihood.  No  great 
interest  was  at  first  manifested  in  them  by  the  King, 
who  was  probably  not  averse  to  the  reception  of  im- 
migrant aliens. 

According  to  Umm  Salamah,  however,  the  Mec- 
cans  were  not  disposed  to  lose  so  considerable  a 
number  of  their  fellow-citizens.  At  a  later  time  we 
find  them  unreasonably  tenacious  of  citizens  who  by 
abandoning  their  religion  had  ceased  to  be  of  any 
use  to  themselves ;  they  preferred  keeping  them  in 
chains  at  home  to  letting  them  go  free.  The  reason 
for  this  is  in  part  to  be  found  in  the  institution  called 
mundf arali,  \  a  sort  of  contest  in  which  men  endeav- 
oured to  prove  their  families  to  be  the  biggest ;  ridi- 
culed in  the  Koran,  where  some  one  is  said  to  swell 
the  list  by  counting  gravestones.  Hence  a  volun- 
tary exile  was  said  to  bid  defiance  to  his  friends.J 
A  deputation  consisting  of  Abdallah  (then  called 
Bujair),  son  of  Abu  Rabi'ah,  and  father  of  a  cele- 
brated poet,  and  'Amr,  son  of  Al-'Asi,  afterwards 
famous,  was  sent  to  induce  the  King  to  extradite 
them.  'Amr,  son  of  Al-'Asi,  was  well  known  at 
the  Abyssinian  court,  where  he  had  revealed  to 
the  King  the  unfaithfulness  of  one  of  his  queens,  § 
and  so  avenged  his  own  wrong  while  he  avenged 
the  King's.  They  were  told  to  take  presents 
to   the    nobles   and    approach    the    King    through 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  265. 
\Goldziher,  M.  S.tl,  56. 
X  Ion  Duraid,  223. 
§  Aghy  viii.,  53. 


1 60  Mohammed 

them.  The  way  having  been  duly  paved,  the 
envoys  submitted  their  desire  that  their  mis- 
guided brethren  might  be  handed  over  to  them  ; 
returned,  we  must  suppose,  with  an  Abyssinian  es- 
cort to  the  Arabian  coast.  The  King  wished  to 
know  first  what  the  new  religion  was.  An  assembly 
was  called  at  which  Ja'far,  being  summoned  to  reply, 
read  out  the  earlier  part*  of  Surah  xix.,  a  discourse 
specially  prepared  by  Mohammed  for  this  occasion. 
Its  description  of  the  experiences  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
moved  the  Negus  to  tears ;  and  he  resolved  never  to 
abandon  these  followers  of  Christ.  The  disappointed 
envoys  endeavoured  to  show  the  King  that  Moham- 
med's views  of  the  nature  of  Christ  were  unorthodox, 
but  the  King,  to  their  vexation,  declared  the  Ko- 
ranic doctrine  on  that  matter  to  be  the  solely  true 
one. 

How  much  of  this  narrative  is  true  is  not  known. 
From  a  later  anecdote  Ja'far  appears  incidentally  to 
have  had  some  experience  of  the  Negus's  court. f  It  is 
in  any  case  a  fact  that  the  Negus  favoured  the  cause  of 
Mohammed  against  the  Kuraish,  and  remained  Mo- 
hammed's faithful  friend  to  his  death  ;  when  success 
had  crowned  Mohammed's  arms  he  restored  his  fol- 
lowers to  him,  and  went  to  the  expense  of  finding  the 
dowry  of  one  of  his  numerous  brides,  Ethiopian 
Christianity,  unlike  most  other  branches,  tolerating 
polygamy.  Without  an  Abyssinian  account  of  the 
affair  we  cannot  make  out  certainly  the  King's  mo- 
tives  or  the  actual  course  of  Mohammed's  policy. 

*  Wakidi,  Dhakha'ir,  205. 
f  Wakidi(W.),  302. 


1 » 

<  8 
1  " 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         161 

The  XlXth  Surah  is  (like  many  others)  a  summary 
of  the  Prophet's  teaching,  only  in  it  the  story  of  the 
Nativity  occupies  the  chief  place ;  we  fancy  Wara- 
kah's  translation  of  the  Gospel  must  have  come  in 
useful  at  this  period.  The  indignant  denial  which  it 
contains  of  the  divine  sonship  of  Jesus  is  without 
question  an  addition  inserted  at  a  later  time ;  Mo- 
hammed avoided  that  thorny  matter  till  it  became 
politic  for  him  to  quarrel  with  Christians.  The  part 
which  is  likely  to  have  been  read  before  the  King  is 
an  innocent  reproduction  of  statements  current  in 
Christian  books,  with  some  touches  from  the  Proph- 
et's fancy  ;  the  story  that  Christ  spoke  in  the  cradle 
is  likely  to  have  been  known  in  Abyssinia,  and,  even 
if  heard  for  the  first  time,  would  have  given  no  of- 
fence. We  cannot  well  believe  that  Ja'far  translated 
this  Surah,  which  derives  so  much  of  its  beauty  from 
the  rhyme,  into  another  language ;  hence  we  fancy 
the  Abyssinian  audience  must  have  been  able  to 
guess  at  the  meaning  of  a  tale  in  a  dialect  so  closely 
allied  to  their  own. 

When  Moslems  began  to  persecute  Christians, 
they  were  doubtless  taunted  with  the  memory  of 
this  timely  help,  whereby  the  early  community  had 
been  saved  from  destruction.  Fictions  were  then 
excogitated  showing  how  the  Negus  had  been,  not  a 
Christian,  but  a  follower  of  Islam.  On  the  analogy 
of  similar  scenes  we  should  suppose  that  the  envoys 
of  Mohammed  urged  the  Negus  to  take  an  active 
part  in  suppressing  paganism,  reminding  him  of  the 
Abyssinian  rule  in  South  Arabia,  a  fact  which  gave 
him  some  sort  of  title  to  the  country ;  and  that  the 


1 6  2  Mo  ha  mmed 

idea  of  regaining  this  ancient  possession  was  what  led 
him  to  favour  the  Meccan  insurgents. 

An  important  event,  the  conversion  of  Omar,  is 
placed  about  the  time  of  the  first  secession.*  This 
man  was  some  ten  years  the  Prophet's  junior,  a 
famous  horseman  and  of  herculean  strength ;  like 
Hamzah  he  was  addicted  to  wine ;  in  his  youth  he 
had  suffered  from  extreme  povertyf;  like  the  rest  of 
the  Meccans  he  was  engaged  in  trade,  and  had  a 
Bedouin's  cunning.  J  He  tried  in  his  trading  expe- 
ditions to  evade  the  tax  on  gold  exacted  by  the 
Ghassanides,  by  making  a  camel  swallow  the  money, 
and  afterwards  slaughtering  the  camel  and  recover- 
ing the  coins.  The  Ghassanide  official  let  himself  be 
cheated  once  this  way,  but  a  second  time  he  was  able 
to  detect  the  camel  that  had  been  tampered  with, 
and  outwitted  Omar.  Omar's  camel  had  to  disgorge 
the  money,  and  its  master  to  satisfy  himself  with 
threats  of  vengeance.  Like  St.  Paul,  to  whom  he  has 
been  compared,  he  persecuted  the  religion  of  which 
he  afterwards  became  a  champion.  Mohammed, 
with  his  unfailing  skill  in  judging  men,  eagerly  de- 
sired to  have  this  man  among  his  supporters  ;  and 
though  our  authorities  are  silent  concerning  the 
steps  which  he  took  to  obtain  this  end,  the  facts  that 
Omar  was  converted  after  his  sister,  and  that  the 
sister  was  married  to  the  son  of  a  monotheist,  supply 
materials  for  reconstruction  of  the  process.     A  story 


*  Dhu'l-Hijjah  of  the  year  6  of  the  Mission.    Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  193. 
f  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  301. 
\Isabah,   ii.,  21.     Verses  by  him  are  occasionally  quoted.     Ibn 
Duraid,  225. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  163 

was  circulated  that  the  husband's  father  had  died 
searching  for  that  faith  which  Mohammed  was 
authorised  to  preach.  '■])  Of  Omar's  conversion  a  va- 
riety of  accounts  are  given,  several  agreeing  in  that 
they  ascribe  it  to  the  charm  of  the  Koran.  The  most 
popular  make  him  embrace  Islam  at  the  house  of  his 
sister  Fatimah  (or  Ramlah),  wife  of  Sa'id,  son  of 
Zaid,  both  of  them  secret  proselytes.  Khabbab,  son 
of  Al-Aratt,  was  reading  a  Surah  (No.  xx.)  at  their 
house,  when  they  were  surprised  by  the  entry  of 
Omar.  The  scripture-reader  fled  precipitately,  leav- 
ing the  roll  with  Fatimah,  who  tried  in  vain  to  hide 
it ;  Omar  demanding  it,  and  being  refused,  wounded 
his  sister  with  his  sword.  The  sight  of  the  blood 
made  him  penitent ;  he  begged  humbly  to  see  the 
roll,  which  was  granted  him,  if  he  washed  before 
touching  it.  He  read  a  portion  of  the  Surah  and 
asked  to  be  taken  to  Mohammed,  to  make  his  con- 
fession of  faith.  The  scripture-reader,  hearing  this, 
emerged  from  his  hiding-place,  and  escorted  Omar  to 
the  Prophet.  Hamzah,  who  was  hiding  with  the 
Prophet,  undertook  to  kill  Omar  if  he  meant  mis- 
chief, but  he  came  as  a  proselyte  and  was  warmly 
welcomed.  He  proceeded  at  once  to  communicate 
the  intelligence  of  his  conversion  to  the  amateur 
town-crier,  and  visited  Abu  Jahl,  the  inveterate 
enemy  of  Islam,  who  thanked  him  for  the  informa- 
tion by  shutting  the  door  in  his  face. 

The  Moslems  could  now  come  out  of  their  places 
of  concealment,  and  even  pray  openly  in  the  pre- 
cincts. Such  was  the  fear  which  his  strength 
inspired.      "  If   Satan   were  to   meet   Omar,"   said 


1 64  Mohammed 

Mohammed,  "he  would  get  out  of  Omar's  way."* 
Yet  we  have  no  record  of  any  occasion  on  which 
Omar  displayed  remarkable  courage,  though  many 
examples  are  at  hand  of  his  cruelty  and  bloodthirsti- 
ness;  at  the  battle  of  Hunain  he  ran  away,  f  and 
on  another  occasion  owed  his  life  to  the  good  nature 
of  an  enemy. 

Probably  the  above  story  is  in  the  main  true. 
Novelists  sometimes  employ  similar  motives  ;  an  im- 
petuous but  chivalrous  man  finds  that  he  has  rushed 
into  an  ungentlemanly  act,  and  in  his  extreme  desire 
to  atone  loses  command  of  his  will.  The  shock 
which  Omar  experienced  at  having  wounded  his  sis- 
ter made  him  anxious  to  do  anything  which  would 
atone  for  it;  the  most  obvious  course  being  to  ex- 
press admiration  for  the  Koran  and  become  a  Mos- 
lem, he  hastens  to  adopt  that ;  he  is  admitted  into 
the  society,  and  becomes  its  most  fanatical  member. 
Moreover,  to  this  sister  he  appears  to  have  been  fondly 
attached  ;  when,  as  children,  they  looked  after  their 
mother's  camel  in  the  desert,  Omar  used  when  it 
grew  hot  to  throw  his  garment  over  his  sister  and 
tend  the  beast,  exposed  without  any  covering  to  the 
sunshine. %  This  explains  the  difficulty  that  Omar's 
conduct  on  other  occasions  displays  no  trace  of 
chivalry.  He  was  a  wife-beater  § ;  he  went  to  the 
length  of  scourging  some  women  for  weeping  over 
the  death  of  one  of  Mohammed's  daughters  | ;  and 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  234. 

\  Wakidi  (  W .),  361. 

%  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  301. 

%Musnad,  iii.,  328. 

\  Ibid.,  i.,  237,  etc.    Cf.  Goldziher,  M.  5.,  i.,  253. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  165 

at  other  times  interfered  with  women's  concerns  in  a 
manner  which  displays  a  nature  of  extreme  coarse- 
ness. It  must  further  be  added  in  explanation  of  his 
conversion  that  he  belonged  to  a  humble  clan,  and 
had  therefore  something  to  gain  by  the  equality 
which  Islam  promised.  Years  after,  when  Caliph, 
he  took  a  delight  in  humiliating  the  aristocrat  Abu 
Sufyan,  thanking  God  that  through  Islam  a  member 
of  his  humble  family  could  command  one  of  the 
illustrious  Abd  Manaf.*  Mohammed,  who  with  the 
view  of  breaking  the  family  and  tribal  ties  instituted 
brotherhoods  between  pairs  of  his  followers,  coupled 
Omar  with  his  principal  adherent,  Abu  Bakrf;  and 
in  spite  of  the  difference  of  their  dispositions  we  hear 
of  only  one  serious  quarrel  between  them.  %  Where 
they  agreed  the  Prophet  regularly  took  their  advice.  § 
The  tradition  regularly  represents  Omar  as  recom- 
mending violence  where  Abu  Bakr  is  for  gentle  meas- 
ures ;  Mohammed  did  not  often  take  his  advice  in 
such  cases,  yet  made  him  one  of  the  innermost  cabi- 
net ;  the  formula,  "  I,  Abu  Bakr,  and  Omar,"  was 
constantly  on  his  lips.  ||  When  the  Prophet  adopted 
his  suggestions  he  ordinarily  professed  to  have  ar- 
rived at  them  independently.  This  process  by  no 
means  weakened  Omar's  confidence,  whose  belief 
was  only  shaken  when  the  Prophet  allowed  his  rights 
as  Messenger  of  Allah  to  be  curtailed.     When  the 


*Azraki,  448. 
f  Ishak,  934. 
\  Musnad,  iv.,  6. 
§  Ibid.,\v.%  227. 
I  Muslim,  ii.,  232. 


1 66  Mohammed 

Prophet,  having  declined  to  wear  silk  himself,  on  one 
occasion  offered  a  silken  robe  to  Omar,  the  latter 
burst  into  tears.  * 

If  the  Kuraish  were  indignant  before  these  devel- 
opments their  fury  now  rose  many  degrees.  The 
envoys  whom  they  had  despatched  to  Abyssinia  re- 
turned with  the  news  that  their  presents  had  been 
refused  by  the  lord  of  Axum,  who  had  trusted  Mo- 
hammed's followers  rather  than  them  ;  they  knew 
all  about  Mohammed  and  his  antecedents,  and  their 
opinion  had  no  effect  with  the  Negus  ;  the  starveling 
Refugees  had  greater  weight  than  they.  The  affront 
involved  assuredly  made  the  Meccan  aristocrats  feel 
sore.  But  what  was  more  important,  Abyssinian  as- 
sistance must  have  reminded  every  Meccan  of  their 
invasion  of  Arabia,  and  the  misconduct  which  led  to 
the  heroic  efforts  of  Saif,  son  of  Dhu  Yazan,  to  eject 
them.  The  return  of  their  presents  to  the  Meccan 
envoys  looked  like  a  declaration  of  war ;  as  such 
we  find  this  act  regarded  in  negotiations  between 
the  Wahhabis  and  Ibrahim  Pasha,  recorded  by  Pal- 
grave,  f  What  more  likely  than  that  the  anticipa- 
tion of  Mohammed  would  be  fulfilled,  and  an  army 
be  sent  to  abolish  the  Meccan  rites,  and  with  them 
the  Meccan  commerce?  There  is  little  reason  for 
doubting  that  the  founder  of  Islam,  in  sending  his 
followers  to  Axum,  designed  some  such  denouement. 
A  few  years  afterwards  he  readily  allied  himself  with 
another  city — it  is  said — with  the  express  object  of 
fighting  all  the  world  in  the  cause  of  his  religion. 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  153. 
f  Travels,  ii.,  51. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         167 

The  reason  why  this  fear  was  not  realised  is  sug- 
gested by  Umm  Salamah.  Shortly  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Refugees  the  Negus  was  involved  in  a  frontier 
war :  with  whom,  she  does  not  record  ;  but  the  his- 
tory of  Abyssinia  suggests  many  possibilities.  The 
Refugees  awaited  with  the  extremest  anxiety  the  re- 
sult of  the  battle,  which  would  be  likely  to  influence 
their  fate.  It  turned  out  (she  says)  favourably  for 
the  Negus;  but  is  likely  to  have  put  the  Meccan 
business  out  of  his  head. 

The  story  of  the  conversion  of  Omar  represents 
him  as  endeavouring  to  find  Mohammed,  armed  with 
a  sword  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  Meccah  from  the 
impostor.  This  trait  is  probably  borrowed  from  the 
Omar  of  later  days,  who  was  accustomed  to  solve 
every  knot  with  that  weapon.  The  fear  of  a  blood- 
feud  between  the  Meccan  families  acted  like  an  im- 
passable barrier,  keeping  that  expedient  out  of  the 
Meccans'  reach.  The  time  was  not  ripe  for  their 
bracing  themselves  to  contemplate  such  a  thing,  and 
even  when  it  came  their  clumsiness  and  timidity  ren- 
dered the  attempt  abortive.  There  was,  however,  a 
process,  known  to  pagan  Arabs  no  less  than  Christians, 
which  they  could  attempt  without  violating  their 
consciences.  This  was  excommunication,  depriving 
the  culprit's  family  of  the  jus  connubii  and//*.?  com- 
mercii :  a  purpose  for  which  special  confederacies 
were  established.  *  Rolls  would  seem  to  have  been 
in  common  use  at  this  time  in  Meccah  :  a  solemn 
league  and  covenant  was  made,  written  on  a  roll, 
and  suspended  in  the  Ka'bah,  by  which  the  heads 

+  Goldzihery  M.   S.,  i.,  65. 


1 68  Mohammed 

of  the  Meccan  households  pledged  themselves  to 
exclude  the  Banu  Hashim  and  the  Banu  '1-Muttalib 
from  these  rights,  until,  we  may  presume,  Moham- 
med was  declared  outlawed,  and  handed  up  to  venge- 
ance. The  scribe  was  himself  a  member  of  the 
Hashim  clan  ;  but  it  apparently  was  open  to  mem- 
bers of  the  clan  to  forswear  their  clanship,  and  so 
escape  the  ban.  Abu  Lahab,  the  Prophet's  uncle, 
was  one  of  those  who  took  advantage  of  this 
option  ;  and  he  is  perhaps  cursed  in  the  Koran  in 
consequence ;  Mohammed's  cousin,  Abu  Sufyan, 
son  of  Al-Harith,  was  another.*  The  whole  Hash- 
imite  clan,  with  these  exceptions,  congregated  in 
Abu  Talib's  ravine,  where  they  probably  lived  on 
Khadijah's  resources.  The  ravine  was  capable  of 
holding  as  many  as  four  thousand  persons  and  could 
be  defended  against  attacks,  f  Like  other  prisoners, 
the  Hashimites  could  obtain  food,  but  at  famine 
prices.  The  careless  generosity  of  the  Meccans  and 
their  vacillating  wills  did  much  to  render  the  block- 
ade ineffective.  One  Mut'im,  son  of  'Adi,  rendered 
such  services  that  Mohammed  afterwards  would 
have  made  him  a  present  of  all  the  prisoners  of 
Badr.  Hisham,  son  of  'Amr,  who  was  remotely 
connected  with  the  Hashimites,  used  to  send  beasts 
laden  with  provisions  into  the  ravine.  %  There  were 
other  persons,  some  of  whom,  like  Sahl,  son  of 
Wahb,  afterwards  professed  to  have  been  secret  con- 
verts, to  whom  the  "  Scroll "  was  distasteful,  and 


*  Wakidi  (  W.\  328. 

\  Chronicles  of  Meccah*  ii.,  31. 

\  Ishak,  247. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         1 69 

who  endeavoured  to  get  it  cancelled.  Meanwhile 
the  Moslems  then  no  more  than  at  any  other  time 
believed  in  the  doctrine  of  turning  the  other  cheek. 
One  of  the  Prophet's  cousins,  Tulaib,  son  of  'Umair, 
actually  wounded  Abu  Lahab,  and  being  captured 
by  the  Kuraish  would  have  been  dispatched,  but 
that  Abu  Lahab,  generous  as  usual,  protected  him.  * 
Abu  Jahl  also  is  said  to  have  been  battered  in  an 
encounter  with  sorrfe  of  Mohammed's  friends.  \ 

The  duration  of  the  ban  is  given  as  two  or  three 
years.  The  number  of  persons  who  were  affected  by 
it  is  not  exactly  known,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  must 
have  been  very  considerable  :  a  sufficient  number  to 
render  a  feud  a  serious  matter.  One  of  those  affected 
was  the  Prophet's  uncle  Abbas,  whose  son  Abdallah, 
born  during  the  ban,  became  eminent  among  the 
fathers  of  the  Mohammedan  Church. 

The  period  of  the  ban  is  artistically  filled  by  the 
biographers  with  notices  of  Koranic  controversies ; 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  controversy  belonged  to 
an  earlier  period,  and  that  the  war  of  deeds  was 
after  rather  than  simultaneous  with  the  war  of 
words.  The  Abyssinian  card  was  one  of  enormous 
value — not  so  valuable  as  that  of  Medinah  after- 
wards proved  to  be,  yet  capable  of  being  played 
with  great  effect.  All  the  argumentation  of  the 
Koran,  which  indeed  few  in  Meccah  could  under- 
stand,^: was  far  outweighed  by  the  testimonial  of  the 
great  man.     The  Negus  believed  Mohammed  was  a 

*  Isabah  after  Baladhuri* 
\  Tabari,  i.,   1 190. 
\  Surah  xi.,  93. 


1 70  Mohanimed 

prophet ;  that  fact  could  now  be  flaunted  in  adver- 
tisements, and  the  Meccans  who  probably  saw  in 
this  testimonial  merely  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
Abyssinians  to  interfere  with  their  affairs,  found  that 
Mohammed  from  being  vexatious  had  become  dan- 
gerous. He  had,  in  fact,  by  the  Negus's  patronage 
of  the  cause  become  a  political  power ;  a  person 
hated,  indeed,  but  feared  rather  than  despised. 
Meanwhile  Mohammed's  resources  were  being  se- 
verely strained,  and  he  probably  had  to  bear  many  a 
reproach  from  the  clansmen  whom  he  had  so  seriously 
compromised  ;  but  developments  from  Abyssinia 
were  worth  awaiting,  and  the  result  of  the  Abyssin- 
ian campaign  was  probably  watched  for  in  Meccah 
with  considerable  anxiety. 

What  we  know  is  that  a  compromise  was  pre- 
sently arrived  at :  and  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
compromise  may  be  thus  divined.  After  the  Abys- 
sinians' campaign  had  proved  successful,  it  was  im- 
portant for  the  Meccans  to  persuade  their  fugitives 
to  come  home,  so  that  there  might  be  no  further 
fear  of  an  Abyssinian  invasion.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Prophet  was  probably  aware  that  such  an  in- 
vasion would  be  a  doubtful  advantage  to  himself, 
since  the  Abyssinians  would  conquer,  if  at  all,  for 
themselves.  Let  Mohammed  make  some  reasonable 
concession  to  Al-Lat  and  Al-'Uzza,  and  Allah's 
Prophet  would  be  recognised. 

This  was  in  effect  what  happened.  The  Prophet 
produced  a  revelation  in  which  Al-Lat,  etc.,  were 
raised  from  the  position  of  "  names  invented  by 
your  fathers  for  which  Allah  has  given  no  authority" 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         1 7 1 

to  that  of  "  intercessors  whose  intercession  might  be 
hoped."  The  scene  for  its  delivery  seems  to  have 
been  carefully  prepared.  The  inhabitants  of  Meccah 
thronged  the  precincts ;  the  Prophet  appeared,  de- 
livered his  discourse,  and  paid  his  high  compliment 
to  the  goddesses  whom  he  had  previously  treated  so 
cavalierly.  He  prostrated  himself  at  the  end  of  the 
discourse,  and  the  congregation  prostrated  them- 
selves also.  One  whom  the  stiffness  of  old  age 
prevented  from  joining  in  the  ceremony  took  soil 
from  the  ground  and  applied  it  to  his  brow.  The 
news  flew  fast  that  Allah  and  the  goddesses  had  be- 
come friends — that  the  Kuraish  had  accepted  Islam, 
or  that  Mohammed  had  fallen  back  into  paganism. 
The  ban  on  the  Hashimites  was  withdrawn ;  the 
Abyssinian  Refugees  returned. 

The  compromise,  which  to  us  appears  wise  and 
statesmanly,  was  regarded  as  the  most  discreditable 
episode  in  the  Prophet's  career,  and  in  the  chief  edi- 
tion of  his  biography  it  is  suppressed.  In  the  edition 
which  preserves  it  Mohammed  is  represented  as  re- 
turning to  monotheism  the  same  day.*  The  release 
of  the  Hashimites  from  the  ban  is  disconnected  from 
the  compromise,  and  ascribed  to  the  action  of  certain 
individuals  whose  tender  hearts  were  afflicted  with 
the  thought  of  a  Kurashite  tribe  perishing.  They 
therefore  resolved  to  induce  the  Kurashites  to  de- 
stroy the  roll,  which,  it  is  then  discovered,  has  al- 
ready been  destroyed  by  worms.  The  fact  however 
of  the  Abyssinian  Refugees  returning  in  consequence 
of  the  compromise  shows  that  it  was  an  event  of 

*  Tabariy  i.,  1 195. 


172  Mohammed 

more  than  momentary  importance.  It  would  be 
utterly  unlike  Mohammed  to  make  such  a  conces- 
sion unless  at  least  an  equivalent  was  to  be  obtained. 
Such  an  equivalent  would  doubtless  be  the  removal 
of  the  ban.  The  ascription  of  that  step  to  the  good 
nature  of  certain  persons  we  regard  therefore  as  due 
to  the  desire  to  bring  the  compromise  into  oblivion. 
How  came  the  ban  to  be  withdrawn?  was  a  natural 
question.  The  most  pious  answer  was  that  the 
worms  ate  up  the  document  on  which  it  had  been 
inscribed — with  due  reverence  for  the  name  of  God 
which  was  at  the  head  of  it.  To  those  who  thought 
this  unlikely  the  good  nature  of  certain  Meccans  fur- 
nished a  likelier  reply.  Our  authorities  give  us  a  com- 
bination of  the  two.  Yet  in  ascribing  to  the  pagans 
such  tenderness  of  feeling  they  appear  to  be  right. 

What  it  was  that  spoiled  the  satisfactory  syncre- 
tism which  had  restored  concord  is  not  known  ;  most 
probably  it  was  the  fact  that  many  of  Mohammed's 
followers  were  earnest.  Indeed  the  long  persecution 
they  had  undergone  had  burned  out  the  elements  that 
were  not  genuine  metal.  The  trials  which  they  had 
faced  had  endeared  the  doctrine  to  which  they  were 
due ;  and  those  persons,  accustomed  to  speak  of  Al- 
Lat  and  Al-'Uzza  with  contempt  and  abhorrence, 
refused  to  turn  round  so  sharply  and  admit  their 
efficacy  with  God.  It  was  not  the  only  occasion  on 
which  Mohammed  discovered  that  his  followers  were 
not  all  adventurers  but  some  of  them  enthusiasts. 
Men  to  whom  he  held  out  the  prospect  of  worldly 
goods  replied  at  times  that  they  did  not  need  them*; 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  197. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  1 73 

converts  who  were  told  to  profit  from  their  con- 
version by  embezzling  goods  entrusted  to  them  by 
unbelievers  declined  to  make  theft  their  entry  into 
the  new  condition* ;  men  tried  hard  to  get  permis- 
sion to  become  ascetics. f  Mohammed,  like  others 
who  raise  spirits,  could  not  always  control  them. 
The  compromise  threatened  to  mean  a  complete 
victory  for  one  side.  Nor  indeed  are  the  Meccans 
likely  to  have  suppressed  their  delight  at  having 
extorted  such  a  concession. 

Some  one,  therefore,  an  Abyssinian  Refugee,  or 
perhaps  Omar — whose  faith  at  a  later  time  was  all 
but  wrecked  by  a  tergiversation  of  the  Prophet's, — 
demanded  that  this  concession  should  be  withdrawn. 
We  were  not  there,  as  Mohammed  would  say,  when 
the  discussion  went  on ;  yet  we  know  that  disputes 
rage  no  less  fiercely  because  posterity  forgets  all 
about  them.  Strong  as  was  the  Prophet's  will,  there 
were  times  when  he  could  be  bent ;  and  having  re- 
signed himself  to  approving  the  Meccan  polytheism, 
he  had  now  to  resign  himself  to  declaring  that  he 
had  made  a  mistake.  As  we  have  seen,  the  retrac- 
tation of  errors  committed  in  the  Koran  was  a  fairly 
familiar  process.  Allah  was  not  proud.  The  com- 
promising verses  were  erased  from  the  Surah,  and 
an  apology  substituted.  In  this  he  declares  that 
whenever  a  prophet  recites  his  oracles  the  devil  is 
quite  sure  to  interpolate.  God,  however,  revises 
the  proofs,  and  throws  out  the  devil's  interpolation. 
The  fruit  of  the  long  negotiations  was  thus  lost ;  the 

*  Ishak,  470. 

f  Musnad,  i.,  175,  vi.,  122. 


1 74  Mohammed 

Refugees  for  the  most  part  returned  to  Abyssinia,  few 
of  them  having  even  entered  Meccah.  Thirty-three 
who  remained  had  to  obtain  patrons.  The  persons 
who  had  procured  the  compromise  were  more 
than  ever  embittered  at  Mohammed's  slipperiness 
and  bad  faith. 

The  strategy  of  the  Meccan  leaders  had,  how- 
ever, averted  a  serious  danger.  The  fugitives  had 
left  Abyssinia,  spreading  the  rumour  of  the  conver- 
sion of  their  enemies,  a  rumour  which  doubtless  had 
been  magnified  in  their  mouths,  for  exiles  feed  so 
much  on  hopes.  Abyssinian  aid  was,  they  declared, 
no  longer  required  to  force  their  countrymen  to  re- 
spect the  Chosen  of  God.  These  persons  coming  back 
after  a  month,  and  saying  it  was  all  a  regrettable 
mistake,  cut  rather  a  sorry  figure ;  nor  dared  they, 
we  fancy,  tell  the  story  of  the  devil's  interpolation. 
Hence  the  danger  from  Abyssinia  had  been  averted. 

The  interval  between  the  failure  of  the  compro- 
mise and  the  next  events  of  importance  is  filled  in* 
by  the  biographer  with  miraculous  tales  or  such  as 
are  clearly  inventions  requisite  for  the  interpretation 
of  passages  in  the  Koran.  Hard  as  it  is  to  injure  a 
reputation,  it  is  probable  that  Mohammed's  conces- 
sion and  retractation  had  seriously  injured  his.  The 
grand  scene  in  the  precincts  would  be  remembered 
by  the  citizens  of  Meccah,  and  many  a  sarcasm  be 
bestowed  on  the  Prophet  who  could  not  distinguish 
the  inspirations  of  Satan  from  those  of  God.  Few 
proselytes  are  likely  to  have  been  won  at  Meccah 
from  the  time  of  the  abrogation  of  the  verses  till 
the  exodus. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  175 

The  next  events  of  consequence  are  the  deaths  in 
one  year  of  Khadijah  and  Abu  Talib :  this  is  given 
as  year  10  of  the  Mission,  and  it  is  stated  that  the 
events  were  after  the  blockade  was  over  and  the 
Hashimites  had  issued  from  their  ravine.  Probably 
the  proximate  cause  of  the  death  of  both  is  to  be 
found  in  the  agitation  due  to  the  scenes  of  which 
we  can  only  reproduce  so  faint  an  outline,  and  the 
privation  and  annoyance  which  the  blockade  had 
occasioned ;  or  more  probably  in  the  prospect  of  a 
renewal  of  the  same  privations  after  they  had  stopped 
for  a  time.  Mohammed  is  said  to  have  tried  hard  to 
get  the  dying  Abu  Talib  to  pronounce  the  Islamic 
confession,  but  unsuccessfully;  whereas  he  could 
assure  Khadijah  on  her  deathbed  that  she  with  three 
other  famous  ladies — the  Virgin  Mary,  Potiphar's 
wife,  and  "  Kulthum,  Moses'  sister"  —  would  share 
his  chamber  in  Paradise ;  and  wishing  her  husband 
P  Peace  and  Offspring,"  the  ordinary  nuptial  greet- 
ing, she  passed  away.4*"  Of  Abu  Talib  the  Prophet 
appears  to  have  spoken  with  very  moderate  affec- 
tion ;  his  protection  had  doubtless  been  like  the 
brake,  which,  while  it  saves  the  vehicle  from  destruc- 
tion, retards  its  pace.  Moreover,  with  Mohammed 
failure  to  recognise  his  Mission  could  not  be  atoned 
for  by  any  services,  however  great.  Abu  Talib  there- 
fore was  doomed  to  hell ;  the  utmost  that  his 
nephew  could  procure  for  him  was  that  whereas 
other  evil-doers  were  in  a  lake  of  fire,  he  was  to  be 
in  a  puddle,  without,  however,  much  alleviation  of 
the  suffering  involved.     Ali,  more  fanatical  than  the 

*  Isabah, 


1 76  Mohammed 

Prophet,  displayed  some  reluctance  when  ordered 
to  bury  his  father  who  had  died  in  unbelief.* 

Of  Khadijah,  on  the  other  hand,  Mohammed  is 
said  to  have  spoken  with  affection  and  appreciation, 
and  in  later  years  used  regularly  to  treat  with  favour 
women  who  had  been  recipients  of  Khadijah's 
bounty,  declaring  faithfulness  to  be  part  of  faith.f 
He  thereby  roused  the  jealousy  of  one  of  her  many 
substitutes.  For  indeed  the  widower  consoled  him- 
self within  a  month  by  marrying  Saudah,  daughter  of 
Zama'ah,  whose  brother  strewed  ashes  on  his  head 
when  he  heard  of  her  betrothal  %  ;  and  ere  long,  by 
engaging  himself  to  the  infant  daughter  of  Abu 
Bakr,  Ayeshah,  of  whom  more  will  be  heard.  A 
child  of  seven,  she  was  sent  by  her  father  with  a 
basket  of  dates  to  the  Prophet,  whose  manner  in- 
spired her  with  alarm  and  aversion.  §  But  this  of 
course  strengthened  the  Prophet's  resolve,  though 
she  was  already  betrothed  to  the  son  of  his  patron 
Mut'im,  who,  however,  was  not  anxious  for  alliance 
with  a  Moslem. 

Mohammed's  numerous  marriages  after  Khadi- 
jah's death  have  been  attributed  by  many  European 
writers  to  gross  passion,  but  they  would  seem  to 
have  been  mainly  dictated  by  motives  of  a  less 
coarse  kind.  Several  of  his  alliances  were  political 
in  character,  the  Prophet  being  anxious  to  bind  his 
chief  followers  more  and  more  closely  to  himself. 


*  Musnad,  i.,  97. 
\  Alif-Bd,  i.,  141. 
\  Musnad,  vi.,  210. 
§  Mikhlat,  156. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period         1 7 f 

This  was  doubtless  his  object  in  marrying  the  daugh- 
ters of  Abu  Bakr  and  Omar ;  while  a  political  motive 
of  a  different  sort  is  to  be  found  in  his  alliances  with 
the  daughters  of  political  opponents  or  fallen  ene- 
mies. Victory  over  an  enemy  would  seem  to  have 
been  consummated  only  when  the  enemy's  daughter 
was  introduced  into  the  conqueror's  harem.*  The 
remainder  are  to  be  explained  by  his  extreme  anx- 
iety to  have  a  son,  and  thereby  escape  a  reproach 
to  which  he  was  keenly  sensitive.  "  The  owner  of 
this  castle  was  in  great  grief  because  he  had  no  son  ; 
so  he  did  not  cease  selecting  bride  after  bride  till  at 
last  there  was  prospect  of  success."  This  is  men- 
tioned by  an  Arabic  writer  \  as  a  normal  occurrence, 
and  indeed  the  institution  of  marriage  is  among  the 
Arabs  based  on  the  first  two  only  of  the  reasons 
given  in  the  Anglican  marriage  service.  %  In  Khadi- 
jah's  lifetime,  as  has  been  seen,  Mohammed  could 
not  follow  the  dictates  of  either  of  the  motives  that 
have  been  alleged.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  his  sub- 
sequent conduct,  his  behaviour  prior  to  her  death 
illustrates  in  a  striking  way  his  extraordinary  self- 
control  and  determination  to  wait  for  the  favourable 
moment  before  putting  any  plan  into  execution. 
Women  in  the  East,  especially  Meccan  women,  are 
more  attached  to  their  native  homes  than  men,  §  and 
Khadijah's  death  probably  rendered  the  Flight  prac- 
ticable. The  death  of  Abu  Talib  rendered  it  a  natural 


*  Wellhausen,  Ehe,  435,  n.  5.     He  gives  a  reason  for  this. 

f  Hariri,  430. 

X  Ibid.,  329. 

§  Wellhausen,  Ehe,  470. 


1 78  Mohammed 

solution  of  the  Prophet's  difficulties,  and  one  which 
the  legend  made  Abu  Talib  himself  suggest  to  his 
nephew  on  his  deathbed.*  For  to  no  other  of  his 
relations  was  he  bound  by  ties  similar  to  those  which 
attached  him  to  the  uncle  whose  protection  he  had 
enjoyed  so  long,  nor  was  there  any  of  the  uncon- 
verted left  who  was  likely  to  interfere  so  actively  in 
his  behalf.  The  tradition  would  fain  give  Abbas  a 
similar  part ;  but  there  is  grave  reason  to  suspect 
that  he  first  got  it  when  his  descendants  had  climbed 
Mohammed's  throne. 

After  Abu  Talib's  death  the  Prophet  is  said  to 
have  suffered  severe  persecution,  dust  being  thrown 
on  his  head.f  He  therefore  left  Meccah,  with  the 
view  of  obtaining  a  footing  elsewhere ;  his  first  visit 
was  to  Ta'if,  the  city  that  was  connected  with  Meccah 
by  so  many  ties.  He  could  not  apparently  have 
made  a  worse  choice  ;  the  people  of  Ta'if  were  no  less 
devoted  to  their  goddesses  than  the  Ephesians  to 
Artemis ;  years  after  they  made  a  tougher  fight  for 
their  religion  than  any  other  Arab  town.  In  the 
fact  that  he  went  no  farther  than  Ta'if  we  have  evi- 
dence of  the  caution  and  timidity  which  character- 
ised his  movements:  one  of  the  ruling  family  at  Ta'if 
had  a  Kurashite  wife  ;  hence  as  a  Kurashite  Moham- 
med could  claim  the  protection  of  the  ruling  family, 
which  they  appear  to  have  granted  till  he  began  to 
explain  his  views,  which  were  received  by  the  sheikhs 
with  contempt  and  withering  rebuffs.  Abashed  by 
their  tone — this   story  is  too   characteristic   to  be 

*  Ibn  Sa'd  II.,  ii.,  91. 
\  Tabari,  i.,  1196. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  i  79 

omitted — the  Prophet  begged  them  not  to  mention 
what  his  views  were,  so  determined  was  he  to  keep 
out  of  danger's  way.  His  request  was  not  granted, 
and  he  was  mobbed  by  the  fanatical  populace,  his 
sufferings  being  witnessed  by  some  of  his  Kurashite 
opponents,  who,  however,  as  usual,  treated  him  with 
generosity.  Long  after  a  late  convert  remembered  see- 
ing him  on  a  high  place  at  Ta'if,  leaning  like  a  Kahin  * 
on  a  staff  or  bow,  and  reciting  a  Surah  (lxxxvi.) 
in  which  he  argues  the  resurrection  of  the  body  from 
the  nature  of  its  origin,  and  assures  the  hearers  with 
strange  oaths  that  he  is  serious.  The  role  of  the 
Prophet  assuredly  resembled  that  of  a  madman  ;  but 
the  convert  professed  to  have  committed  the  text  to 
memory  at  the  time,  though  it  was  not  till  long 
after  that  he  acknowledged  it  to  be  the  Word  of 
God.  f  At  the  time  he  accepted  the  opinion  of 
some  Kurashites  who  told  him  that  they  knew  the 
Prophet  well,  and  would  have  followed  him  had  he 
been  genuine.  %  One  woman  (Rakikah)  is  said  to 
have  given  the  Prophet  water,  and  indeed  to  have 
been  converted ;  and  since  open  conversion  would 
have  meant  death  to  her,  she  was  permitted  to  adopt 
a  compromise  similar  to  that  of  Naaman  the  Syrian  ; 
she  was  to  assert  that  her  God  was  the  Thakafite 
idol,  but  she  was  to  turn  her  back  to  it  when  she 
prayed.  § 

To  Meccah  he  durst  not  return  without  a  promise 


*  Isabah,  iii.,  1127. 
\Ibid.,  i.,  826. 
\  Musnad,  iv.,  335. 
§  Isabah,  ii.,  212. 


1 80  Mohammed 

of  protection,  for  whoever  succeeded  Abu  Talib  as 
chief  of  the  Hashimites  was  not  disposed  to  grant 
it ;  it  was  at  last  with  difficulty  procured  from 
Mut'im,  son  of  'Adi,  whose  name  has  occurred  be- 
fore. Nothing  further  of  importance  occurred  dur- 
ing this  trip  save  an  interview  with  a  Christian  slave 
whom  he  moved  to  rapturous  admiration  by  knowing 
that  Nineveh  was  the  home  of  Jonah. 

Truly  the  inhabitants  of  one  town  care  little  for 
the  concerns  of  another.  Ta'if  is  not  two  days' 
journey  from  Meccah,  and,  as  appears  from  this 
story  and  other  evidence,  many  Meccans  had  prop- 
erty there.  Yet  clearly  Mohammed's  prophetic  mis- 
sion, which  had  now  continued  for  ten  years,  had  not 
reached  the  ears  of  the  people  of  Ta'if.  We,  know- 
ing nothing  of  Meccah,  save  what  Mohammed's  bio- 
graphers record,  suppose  the  Meccans  to  have  been 
exclusively  occupied  with  him  and  his  mission.  But 
it  is  evident  that  they  must  have  had  other  and 
more  important  concerns,  else  the  neighbouring  and 
sister  city  must  have  known  something  about  their 
Prophet. 

The  Prophet  then  had  at  the  first  attempt  less 
honour  in  another  country  than  even  in  his  own ; 
but  the  first  failure  never  made  any  difference  when 
he  had  once  conceived  a  plan.  Since,  however,  mis- 
sionary journeys  were  not  free  from  danger,  he  re- 
solved to  take  advantage  of  the  immunity  which  the 
time  of  the  festival  provided.  On  those  occasions 
the  neighbouring  tribes  came  en  masse  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Meccah,  and  set  up  their  tents  in  groups, 
as  indeed  is  probably  done  still.     For  twenty  days 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  1 8 1 

from  the  commencement  of  Dhu'l-Ka'dah  they  had 
their  fair  at  Ukaz,  for  ten  at  Majannah,  and  for  eight 
at  Dhu'l-Majaz.  Nothing  could  be  easier  than  to  go 
the  round  of  these  encampments,  as  doubtless  many 
a  pedlar  did,  and  recite  passages  of  the  Koran  ;  offer- 
ing Paradise  to  any  tribe  that  was  prepared  to  re- 
ceive him.*  And  years  after  the  Mission  had  become 
a  success  old  men  remembered  seeing  the  Prophet 
at  the  fair  of  Dhu'l-Majaz  delivering  his  message; 
he  was  clad  in  red,  and  at  that  time  had  a  white 
complexion  and  copious  black  hair.  Abu  Jahl  was 
near,  throwing  clods  at  the  preacher  and  warning 
those  present  not  to  abandon  their  gods.f  When 
the  feast  itself  came  near,  and  the  two  sects  of  the 
Arabs  separated,  Mohammed  used  to  surprise  the 
youthful  Meccans  by  standing  with  the  sect  which 
was  not  his  own.J  One  tribe,  indeed,  the  Banu  'Amr 
Ibn  Sa'sa'ah,  appear  to  have  thought  his  proposi- 
tion worth  considering,  though  the  conditions  which 
they  demanded  were  not  accepted.  To  the  rest  the 
Prophet  seemed  either  a  blasphemer  or  a  buffoon ; 
and  Abu  Lahab  is  said  to  have  followed  him  closely, 
to  warn  the  Arabs  to  attach  no  importance  to  his 
proposals.  On  the  other  hand  Abu  Bakr  is  repre- 
sented as  utilising  his  genealogical  knowledge  to  win 
the  Prophet  credit. 

Since  favours  are  usually  granted  with  conditions 
attached  to  them,  we  are  entitled  to  infer  from  the 
Prophet's  conduct  after  the  death  of  Abu  Talib  that 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  339. 
f  Ibid.,  iv.,  63. 
%Azraki,  130. 


1 8  2  Mohammed 

he  was  only  permitted  to  enjoy  the  protection  of  a 
Meccan  family  on  condition  that  he  confined  his 
proselytising  endeavours  to  strangers.  Such  condi- 
tions are  not  uncommonly  imposed  on  Christian 
missionaries  who  work  in  Moslem  countries,  where 
they  are  permitted  to  convert  Jews  and  Christians 
at  their  pleasure,  provided  they  leave  privileged 
citizens  alone.  Those  who  stipulated  this  probably 
had  ceased  to  regard  Mohammed  as  a  source  of 
danger,  and  felt  confident  that  his  preaching  would 
have  no  other  effect  than  that  of  making  him 
ridiculous.  Hence  he  was  permitted  to  try  what  he 
could  do  with  the  visitors  whom  the  feast  attracted 
in  numbers,  and  also  with  such  casual  guests  as  a 
variety  of  causes  might  bring  to  Meccah.  Thus  it 
came  about  that  one  Tufail,  son  of  'Amr,  of  the 
tribe  Daus,  came  to  Meccah  and  believed  ;  his  tribe 
had  produced,  if  not  a  prophet,  yet  a  man  who  had 
inferred  the  existence  of  a  Creator,  not  knowing 
who  He  was ;  his  disciple  came  to  Meccah  prepared 
to  learn.  He  offered  Mohammed  a  sure  refuge  in 
his  fortress,  but  Mohammed  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  proposal.*  Thus,  too,  a  man  of  the  tribe  Ham- 
dan  offered  Mohammed  refuge,  but  as  he  bethought 
him  of  getting  the  consent  of  his  tribe  and  returning 
the  next  year  to  fetch  the  Prophet,  he  was  too  late.f 
Thus,  too,  it  came  about  that  Mohammed  was  on  the 
lookout  when  envoys  from  Yathrib  arrived,  and  an- 
other cause  had  meanwhile  been  conspiring  to  make 
the  people  of  Yathrib  ready  to  receive  Mohammed. 

*  Muslim,  i.,  44  ;  Isabah,  ii.,  578  ;  Musnad,  Hi.,  370. 
f  Mush  ad,  Hi.,  390. 


History  of  the  Meccan  Period  1 83 

This  would  appear  to  have  been  the  course  of 
events  during  the  Meccan  period,  of  which  precise 
dates  were  rarely  remembered,  while  the  falsifica- 
tion of  parts  of  it  was  naturally  attempted. 

Throughout,  the  conduct  of  the  Meccan  leaders 
seems  to  have  been  that  of  respectable  and  good- 
natured  men.  They  were  not  hard  on  Mohammed's 
eccentricity,  supported  as  it  was  by  Khadijah's  wealth 
and  social  position,  but  naturally  they  were  merciless 
to  the  humble  individuals,  who,  having  neither  wealth 
nor  station,  or  only  a  little  of  either,  chose  to  think 
for  themselves. 

When  Mohammed's  successful  diplomacy  threat- 
ened to  wreck  the  independence  of  their  city,  they 
adopted  forcible  measures,  but  even  then  were  ready 
to  make  an  honourable  compromise.  When  this  failed, 
and  a  succession  of  misfortunes  reduced  Mohammed 
to  impotence,  they  took  no  advantage  of  his  weak- 
ness, but  suffered  him  to  hold  his  own  opinions,  so 
long  as  he  gave  the  citizens  no  further  trouble.  If, 
says  an  Arabic  proverb,  the  end  of  a  course  were  as 
clear  as  the  beginning,  no  one  would  ever  be  found 
regretting.  Neither  they  nor  any  one  else  could 
then  foresee  the  possibilities  of  Islam. 

In  Mohammed's  conduct  we  may  see  the  influ- 
ence of  what  Carlyle  calls  a  fixed  idea — determina- 
tion to  be  recognised  as  the  Prophet  of  Allah.  A 
legend  makes  the  Kurashite  chiefs  offer  him  anything 
he  chooses,  wealth  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice,  sov- 
ereignty, or  anything  else,  if  he  will  only  resign  his 
claims  to  be  a  Prophet,  but  he  refuses.  To  this  le- 
gend we  naturally  attach  no  credence,  but  even  in 


184 


Mohammed 


the  case  of  the  fixed  ideas  which  Carlyle  has  ren- 
dered immortal — Boehmer's  determination  to  sell  his 
necklace,  Rohan's  determination  to  be  reconciled  to 
the  Queen — their  abandonment  would  have  been 
attended  with  much  personal  inconvenience,  and 
going  back  was  little  less  awkward  than  going  for- 
ward. After  the  part  of  divine  ambassador  had  been 
acted  for  ten  years  with  very  considerable  success  it 
could  not  well  be  given  up. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE^MigRATION.  * 

UNLIKE  Meccah,  Yathrib  lies  in  a  fruitful 
plain.  "  Walled  habitations,  green  fields, 
running  water,  every  blessing  the  Eastern 
mind  can  desire,  are  there."  f  And  indeed  the  rich- 
ness of  the  soil  finds  expression  in  the  name  Taibah, 
"  the  pleasing,"  which  its  Arab  colonists  were  at  one 
time  inclined  to  substitute  for  the  Egyptian  Ath- 
ribis,  Atrepe,  "  Residence  of  Triphis."  The  name 
whereby  it  is  now  known,  "  the  City,"  is  an  ab- 
breviation for  "  the  City  of  the  Prophet."  The 
Egyptian  settlement  was  apparently  not  quite  iden- 
tical with  the  present  site,  but  somewhat  to  the 
north,  at  the  confluence  of  the  streams  which  unite 
at  Zaghabah  to  work  their  way  to  the  sea. 

The  Arab  chronicles  take  us  back  but  a  little  way 
in  elucidating  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  re- 
ception of  Mohammed.  That  so  favoured  a  region 
would  be  early  colonised  is  certain,  and  indeed  in 
pre-Christian  days  Yathrib  figures  as  a  prosperous 


*  In  Arabic,  hijrah,  often  wrongly  written  Hegira. 
\Keane%  p.  219. 


1 86  Mohammed 

commercial  city*;  but  the  native  tradition  knows 
little  of  earlier  inhabitants  than  Jews. 

Some  of  these  professed  to  have  settled  there  in 
the  time  of  Moses ;  others  to  have  joined  their 
brethren  after  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Ro- 
mans, f  Jewish  settlers  were  certainly  to  be  found 
in  most  of  the  oases  that  lie  between  Syria  and 
Yemen.  A  considerable  number  of  Jewish  tribes 
at  Yathrib  (some  twenty)  are  enumerated  by  the 
Arabs,  though  only  three  figure  much  in  the  life  of 
Mohammed.  The  names  of  none  of  these  tribes 
are  Hebrew ;  most  of  them  are  Arabic,  and  similar 
to  the  names  of  Arab  tribes ;  one  or  two  being  de- 
rived from  totems,  while  one  or  two  are  Aramaic. 
Hence  it  is  improbable  that  the  blood  of  these  Jews 
was  mainly  Jewish.  Their  goods  were  protected  by 
seventy  forts.  % 

The  Arabic  history  accounts  for  the  facts  that  the 
Jews  in  Mohammed's  time  formed  a  minority  of  the 
people  of  Yathrib.  and  that  many  of  them  were 
clients  of  the~?^rabs  instead  of  being  supreme,  by 
certain  hypotheses.  At  the  dispersion  caused  by 
the  breaking  of  the  dam  at  Marib,  §  the  Aus  and 
Khazraj  had  wandered  towards  the  Yathrib  oasis,  and 
had  indeed  been  allowed  land,  but  had  no  capital. 
As  the  Arabs  increased,  they  incurred  the  envy  and 
suspicion  of  the  wealthy  Jewish  residents,  who,  im- 
itating the  treatment  of  their  ancestors  by  Pharaoh, 


*  Winckler,  Altorientalische  Forschungen,  ii.,  339. 

f  Aghani,  xix.,  94. 

\  Sam  Audi,  80. 

§  This  event  is  still  regarded  by  some  as  not  wholly  mythical. 


The  Migration  187 

proceeded  to  oppress  the  settlers  :  one  Jewish  chief- 
tain (with  the  curious  name  Bedchamber)*  even 
exacting  the  jus  prima  noctis.  By  an  expedient 
which  rarely  failed  in  anecdotes  of  this  style,  the 
brother  of  one  of  the  brides,  disguised  in  bridal 
attire,  assassinated  the  tyrant ;  and  presently  f  by 
two  acts  of  gross  perfidy  the  supremacy  had  been 
won  for  the  incomers.  A  Ghassanide  king,  at  the 
instance  of  a  Khazrajite,  Malik,  son  of  'Ajlan,  had 
invited  the  chiefs  of  the  Jews  to  a  banquet  and  be- 
headed them,  leaving  Malik  to  achieve  the  work  of 
subduing  the  Jews.  Malik  accomplishes  this  by  a 
second  banquet,  which  the  remaining  chiefs  were 
credulous  and  infatuated  enough  to  attend.  After 
this  double  massacre  the  Jews  were  no  longer  able 
to  make  head  against  the  newcomers,  but  sank  into 
a  condition  of  vassalage.  When  a  Jew  was  attacked, 
instead  of  calling  his  brethren  to  help  him,  he  be- 
sought the  aid  of  an  Arab  patron.  And,  indeed, 
that  the  Banu  Kainuka,  who  owned  the  market  of 
Yathrib,  were  dependents  of  the  Khazraj,  appears 
from  a  tale  which  shall  presently  be  told. 

It  cannot  now  be  discovered  whether  the  above 
story  contains  any  germ  of  truth,  or  whether  it  is 
wholly  the  product  of  the  fancy.  It  is  certainly 
true  that  to  many  of  the  Yathrib  tribes  Jews  were 
attached :  but  the  victims  of  the  treachery  cannot 
well  have  been  the  tribes  Nadir  and  Kuraizah,  who 
play  a  part  in  the  scenes  to  which  we  are  coming ; 

Samhudi  (Kaitun):   but  probably  Fatyun  {Ibn  Duraid,  259) 
is  better. 
f  Samhudi,  81. 


1 88  Mohammed 

for  at  the  commencement  of  Islam,  these  were  not 
in  a  condition  of  vassalage.  It  rather  appears  as  if 
these  tribes  had  kept  aloof  from  the  affairs  of  their 
pagan  neighbours  till  shortly  after  the  commence- 
ment of  Islam.  Yet  the  fact  of  these  tribes  having 
names  with  specifically  Arabic  consonants  requires 
some  explanation.  Israelites  in  most  countries  take 
names  by  which  they  are  assimilated  to  their  neigh- 
bours; but  the  fact  of  their  doing  so  implies  that 
they  feel  themselves  to  be  aliens,  and  would,  at  least 
to  a  certain  extent,  conceal  this  circumstance.  Had 
these  Israelites,  coming  from  their  home  in  Canaan, 
colonised  a  new  country,  they  would  surely  have  re- 
tained both  their  language  and  their  national  names. 
Now,  it  seems  clear  that  these  Jews  of  Medinah 
were  no  more  retentive  of  the  former  than  of  the 
latter.  They  spoke  Arabic — an  idiom  of  their  own, 
it  would  appear,  but  not  more  different  from  the 
language  of  their  neighbours  than  is  Yiddish  from 
German. 

Hence  we  cannot  credit  the  Arabic  tale,  and  yet 
the  obvious  hypothesis  that  these  tribes  were  not  of 
Jewish  origin,  but  Judaised  Arabs,*  can  only  be 
accepted  to  a  moderate  extent.  \  The  character- 
istics which  they  are  found  displaying  are  too  na- 
tional for  us  to  suppose  they  had  imbibed  their 
Judaism  from  strangers.  Perhaps,  then,  these  tribes 
had  migrated  to  Yathrib  after  the  break-up  of  the 
Jewish  state  in  South  Arabia.     Of  the  superiority 


*  Ibn  Duraid,  p.  259,  seems  to  be  in  favour  of  this  view.   Ya'kubi 
asserts  it  positively. 


The  Migration  189 

of  their  culture  to  that  of  the  Arabs  there  was  no 
question.  They  were  better  equipped  with  instru- 
ments for  agriculture,  and  understood  many  indus- 
tries to  which  the  Arabs  were  strangers.  They  were 
also  adepts  in  magic  and  preferred  the  weapons  of 
the  black  art  to  those  of  open  warfare.  At  the 
time  when  this  history  opens  they  had  some  renown 
as  warriors.  Mohammed,  a  good  judge  of  men, 
rated  it,  as  we  shall  see,  quite  correctly. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Jewish  communities 
had,  by  aid  of  their  peaceful  industry,  acquired  con- 
siderable wealth,  and  a  poet  of  early  Islam  couples 
the  palaces  of  the  Banu  Nadir  with  those  of  the 
Persian  and  Byzantine  monarchs;  deterioration  of 
the  race  had,  he  thinks,  led  to  the  fall  of  all  alike. 
They  had  certain  public  funds,  with  a  treasurer  to 
manage  them.  We  hear  incidentally  of  valuable 
plate  possessed  by  members  of  the  tribe.  Some  of 
their  wealth  was  doubtless  acquired  by  money-lend- 
ing ;  on  several  occasions  in  the  subsequent  history 
Jews  figure  largely  as  money-lenders,*  and  when  the 
Prophet  died  his  cuirass  was  held  by  a  Jew  in  pawn. 
This  fact  makes  their  abandonment  to  destruction 
by  the  people  of  Yathrib  easier  to  understand. 

The  reputation  for  learning  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  they  enjoyed  at  Meccah,  seems  to  have  been 
deserved.  They  had  one  or  more  schools  in  which 
the  Torah  was  taught:  and  it  seems  likely  that 
members  of  their  community  were  at  the  first  em- 
ployed by  Mohammed  as  scribes,  or  at  any  rate  as 
accountants  ;  for  few  of  the  pagans  at  Yathrib  could 

•E.g.,  Wakidi{W.)%  174. 


1 90  Mohammed 

as  yet  write  Arabic.  *  They  would  seem  to  have 
written  Arabic  in  their  familiar  Hebrew  character, 
and  among  the  fragments  of  antiquity  which  may 
some  day  be  unearthed  are  letters  or  contracts  in 
this  language.  Their  command  of  the  "  clear 
Arabic  tongue "  was  in  some  cases  sufficient  to 
enable  their  poets  to  compete  on  equal  terms  with 
those  of  the  pagan  Arab  tribes,  and  more  than  one 
of  their  number  counts  among  the  classics  of  the 
Days  of  Ignorance.  In  their  compositions  they  ar- 
rogate to  themselves  the  virtues  and  the  distinc- 
tions of  the  pagan  chieftains  or  knights  errant :  and 
from  a  scene  to  which  allusion  shall  presently  be 
made  we  should  gather  that  they  seriously  believed 
themselves  to  possess  these  qualities. 

The  tribes  called  Aus  and  Khazraj  formed,  how- 
ever, the  bulk  of  the  population  of  Yathrib.  From 
the  tribe  to  the  family  there  were  (as  elsewhere)  a 
series  of  groups  of  smaller  or  greater  numbers,  which, 
however,  did  not  admit  of  precise  limitations. 
Separate  groups  dwelt  in  separate  quarters  sur- 
rounded by  their  own  palm  plantations.  These 
quarters  were  groups  of  mud  huts ;  some  of  the 
groups  had  meeting  houses,  but  we  do  not  hear  of 
sanctuaries,  f  Some  had  towers  or  fortresses  where 
at  times  of  danger  they  could  secure  their  families 
and  property.     In  an  ancient  description  of  such  a 

*  Ibn  Sa'd  mentions  as  writers  Abu  'Abs  Ibn  Jabr,  Ma'n  Ibn  'Adi, 
Ubayy  Ibn  Ka'b,  Sa'd  Ibn  Al-Rabi',  Abdallah  Ibn  Rawahah,  Bashir 
Ibn  Sa'd,  Abdallah  Ibn  Zaid,  Aus  Ibn  Khawali,  Al-Mundhir  Ibn 
'Amr,  Usaid  Ibn  Al-Hudair,  Sa'd  Ibn  'Ubadah,  Rafi'  Ibn  Malik. 

\  The  breadth  of  one  quarter  is  given  as  thirty  cubits.  Ibn  Sa'd^ 
II. ,  ii.,  10. 


The  Migration  191 

tower  it  is  said  to  have  been  built  of  black  stone 
"with  an  eminence  of  white,  with  another  on  that 
which  would  be  seen  from  a  distance."  They 
appear  ordinarily  to  have  been  square  in  shape. 
They  were  required  only  in  emergencies,  since  the 
rules  of  war  forbade  the  conqueror  to  enter  the 
quarters  of  the  vanquished. 

The  pagan  Yathribites  seem  to  have  lagged  behind 
the  Meccans  in  civilisation  :  a  "  perfect  man  "  was 
in  their  nomenclature  one  who  could  write  Arabic, 
swim,  and  shoot  * ;  and  few  of  them  possessed  all 
these  accomplishments.  Their  occupation  in  time 
of  peace  lay  mainly  in  the  cultivation  of  the  palm. 
Many  of  the  necessaries  of  life  were  imported  by 
Nabataeans,  who  had  a  market  called  after  them  in 
Yathrib ;  payment  was  probably  in  dates,  which 
were  as  much  the  measure  of  value  at  Yathrib  as 
was  the  camel  at  Meccah.  Though  we  hear  the 
names  of  one  or  two  wealthy  Yathribites,  the  bulk  of 
them  appear  to  have  been  poor.  "  In  Yathrib  in 
the  Prophet's  time  there  was  only  one  wedding 
garment ;  ornaments  had  to  be  borrowed  from  the 
Jews."  f  This  poverty  was  probably  aggravated  by 
the  Jewish  money-lending. 

There  appears  to  have  been  as  at  Meccah  no  re- 
cognised government  at  Yathrib,  no  regular  mode  of 
administering  justice.  A  tribal  group  was,  however, 
responsible  for  the  actions  of  its  members.  Blood- 
shed was  common,  as  the  result  of  petty  brawls,  and 
caprices  or  conflicting  interests  often  led   on  these 

*  Jbn  Sa'd  II.,  ii.,91. 
f  Wellhausen,  Ehe,  443. 


192  Mohammed 

occasions  to  cross-grouping:  clans  for  various  rea- 
sons taking  the  part  of  more  remote  relations  against 
their  nearer  kin.  Yet  the  petty  wars  seem  to  have 
been  fought  with  strict  observation  of  the  rules 
of  the  game.  Routed  in  the  field  the  enemy  was 
not  pursued  into  his  habitation.  After  many  battles 
the  affair  was  patched  up  by  the  payment  of  blood- 
money :  the  number  of  the  slain  was  counted,  and 
the  family  that  had  lost  most  men  received  com- 
pensation from  the  victor.  Frequently  doubtless 
disputes  were  settled  without  bloodshed  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  arbitrators,  *  who  however  constantly 
found  it  difficult  to  get  their  dooms  recognised 
by  the  party  against  whom  they  gave  sentence. 

Of  the  origin  of  the  dissensions  at  Yathrib  which 
led  to  the  summoning  of  Mohammed  a  complicated 
account  is  given.  It  would  appear  that  dispute  was 
frequently  caused  by  a  chieftain  according  his  pro- 
tection to  some  stranger,  whom  a  native  wantonly 
would  injure  or  kill.  The  patron's  honour  was  in- 
jured by  such  an  act,  and  his  demand  for  vengeance 
would  lead  to  an  affray  of  serious  dimensions.  Yet 
the  consequences  of  such  acts  were  so  well  known 
that  we  fancy  those  who  committed  them  had  ordi- 
narily some  ulterior  object — the  acquisition  of  land  or 
spoil,  if  they  thought  the  patron  whom  they  had  in- 
jured would  succumb  in  combat.  A  member  of  the 
Aus,  Hatib,  of  the  clan  Mu'awiyah,  had  accorded 
his  protection  to  a  stranger,  of  the  tribe  Tha'labah 
of  Dhubyan  :  while  in  the  Jewish  market-place,  a 

*  Ibn  Duraid,  266,  mentions  Al-Mundhir  Ibn  Haram  as  arbitrator 
between  the  Aus  and  Khazraj. 


The  Migration  193 

Khazrajite  (Yazid,  son  of  al-Harith)  offered  a  Jew  his 
robe  if  he  would  box  the  stranger's  ears.  The  Jew 
accepted  the  offer,  and  gave  the  man  a  blow  which 
rang  throughout  the  market-place — for  which  assault 
he  paid  with  his  life,  when  Hatib,  incensed  at  the 
treatment  of  his  client,  arrived  on  the  scene.  *  The 
Khazrajite  who  had  instigated  the  outrage  rushed 
after  Hatib,  but  failing  to  catch  him,  slew  in  his 
stead  a  member  of  his  clan.  Each  of  the  tribes 
gladly  rushed  to  arms,  and  there  followed  a  series 
of  encounters,  in  which  the  Aus  met  with  serious 
reverses,  and  one  of  their  clans,  called  Nabit, 
were  expelled  from  their  lands,  and  forced  to  leave 
Yathrib. 

In  the  final  explosion,  known  as  the  battle  of 
Bu'ath,  dated  six  years  before  the  Flight,  f  the  Jew- 
ish tribes  Kuraizah  and  Nadir  were  involved.  Till 
this  time  it  would  appear  that  they  had  been  cultivat- 
ing their  lands  in  peace:  and  even  if  the  story  told 
above  be  true,  they  apparently  had  taken  the  loss 
of  their  men  quietly,  preferring  a  battle  of  curses 
and  imprecations  to  the  use  of  the  sword  or  spear. 
The  defeated  Aus,  catching  like  drowning  men  at  a 
straw,  negotiated  with  these  tribes  for  assistance  in 
their  war,  and  the  Khazraj,  hearing  of  this,  sent  to 
warn  the  Jews  against  interference,  and  demanded 
forty  lads  as  hostages.  These  were  provided  :  but 
the  real  purpose  of  the  Khazraj  was  to  force  the  Jews 
into  a  quarrel  with  the  view  of  obtaining  their  lands, 
and  the   game  which  they  played  was  afterwards 

*  Jbn  Athir,  i.,  247. 
\  Ibn  Sa'd  II.,  ii.,  135. 
*3 


194  Mohammed 

imitated  by  Mohammed  with  most  signal  success. 
The  Khazraj  demanded  the  lands  of  the  Jews  under 
threat  of  killing  their  hostages :  and  the  Jews  suf- 
fered the  hostages  to  be  killed.  So  the  Jews  were 
driven  to  help  the  Aus,  and  to  take  part  in  the  war 
of  which  they  had  kept  clear.  They  opened  their 
doors  to  the  fugitive  Nabit.  Fighting  under  foreign 
commanders,  and  by  the  sid-e  of  brave  men,  the  Jews 
have  often  proved  themselves  as  good  soldiers  as 
other  men  ;  and  in  the  battle  which  resulted  after 
long  preparation,  the  Khazraj  were  defeated  by  the 
Aus  with  their  Jewish  allies.  In  following  up  the 
victory  and  exacting  full  vengeance  the  Jews  were 
not  restrained  by  the  usages  which  the  Arabs 
respected. 

One  of  the  Khazrajite  chiefs  played  a  part  in  this 
history  of  which  he  was  destined  to  give  many  re- 
productions after  the  arrival  of  Mohammed.  This 
was  Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy,  of  the  clan  Balhubla. 
In  the  crime  of  murdering  the  hostages  he  would 
not  participate ;  he  endeavoured  to  dissuade  the 
others,  and  sent  back  the  hostages  that  were  de- 
posited with  him.  From  the  battle,  too,  he  kept 
aloof — out  of  conscientious  scruples.  Hence  when 
the  tide  of  fortune  had  turned  against  the  Khazraj 
he  was  able  to  secure  the  deliverance  of  his  own 
fortress.  But  to  take  full  advantage  of  a  victory 
was  a  proceeding  which  the  Arabs  had  to  learn  from 
Mohammed.  The  battle  of  Bu'ath  left  the  Aus  vic- 
torious, but  the  enemy  were  not  exterminated — only 
humiliated,  with  a  heavy  score  against  them  which 
every  member  of  the  tribe  was  under  a  solemn  obliga- 


The  Migration  195 

tion  to  pay  in  blood.  The  hostile  tribes  were  still 
living  side  by  side,  and  the  life  of  no  man  was  safe 
when  he  went  outside  his  house.  The  day  of  Bu'ath, 
said  Ayeshah,  had  been  arranged  by  God  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Moslems.  * 

During  the  civil  war  some  of  the  antagonists,  it 
is  said,  had  appealed  to  distant  Meccah,  and  had 
tried  to  ally  themselves  with  the  Kuraish,  but  with- 
out success.  To  the  disappointed  envoys  Moham- 
med offered  Islam  as  a  substitute,  but  this  was  not 
accepted.  Others  visited  the  sacred  places  on  pil- 
grimage at  the  usual  times,  when,  as  we  have  seen,  it 
was  the  Prophet's  custom  to  provide  part  of  the 
spectacle.  Two  Yathribites,  As'ad,  son  of  Zurarah, 
already  a  monotheist  in  belief,f  and  Dhakwan,  son  of 
Abd  Kais,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  were  engaged 
in  a  contest  concerning  their  claims  to  distinction, 
which  they  submitted  to  the  highly  respected  Mec- 
can,  'Utbah,  son  of  Rabi'ah,  who  probably,  after  the 
fashion  of  his  colleagues,  refused  to  decide.  While 
waiting  for  his  decision  they  heard  at  Dhu'l-Majaz 
the  Prophet's  discourses,  and  became  the  first  of  the 
Helpers,:):  as  the  people  of  Yathrib  who  joined  Is- 
lam were  afterwards  called.  Another  account  § 
makes  Rafi',  son  of  Malik,  the  first  convert ;  he 
heard  the  Surah  of  Joseph,  and  took  it  with  him  to 
Medinah.  Yet  another  ||  makes  the  first  convert 
from   Medinah    Mu'adh,  son  of  Al-Harith.     Other 

*  Sam  Audi,  90. 

\Ibn  Sa'd//.,n.,  22. 

\Isabah  i.,  988. 

%Ibid.,  i.,  102;    Jbn  Duraid,  272. 

\Isabah,  iii.,  874. 


196  Mohammed 

accounts  make  the  first  converts  a  band  of  six,  or 
seven,  or  eight.  *  It  is  likely  that  the  persons 
whose  attention  was  roused  by  the  Prophet's  words 
were  chiefly  members  of  the  Khazraj,  and  it  is 
stated  that  As'ad,  son  of  Zurarah,  the  foremost  of 
the  Helpers,  was  a  hater  of  the  Jews,  f  The  Khaz- 
rajites  were  fresh  from  a  severe  defeat  which  they 
had  sustained  from  the  united  forces  of  the  Aus  and 
the  Jews ;  and  the  native  tradition  represents  them 
as  having  taken  up  with  Mohammed  in  order  to  out- 
wit the  latter.  The  Jews  had  talked  in  moments  of 
despair  (as  they  talk  still)  of  the  Messiah  who  would 
one  day  appear  and  conquer  the  world  for  them.  If 
this  Prophet  was  the  Messiah — and  he  claimed  to  be 
something  of  the  sort — would  it  not  be  excellent 
policy  to  secure  him  before  the  Jews  could  claim 
him?  So  argued  the  Khazrajites.  Hence  they 
listened  gladly  to  the  Prophet's  sermon. 

The  history  which  has  come  down  to  us  is  meagre 
and  one-sided :  we  hear  little  of  the  triumph  of  the 
Aus  or  of  the  pride  of  the  Jewish  tribes  in  their  vic- 
tory over  their  oppressors.  When  men  have  had  to 
endure  failure  and  humiliation,  a  little  success  turns 
their  heads.  That  the  victory  of  Bu'ath  was  re- 
garded by  the  Jews  as  a  direct  intervention  by  their 
God  can  scarcely  be  doubted  ;  and  since  the  gods  of 
the  Aus  had  failed  to  secure  them  victory,  it  pre- 
pared their  enemies  to  recognise  the  transcendent 
power  of  the  Israelitish  God,  whose  emissary  and 
agent  Mohammed  claimed — as  we  have  seen,  with 

*  Ibn  Sa'dZI.,  ii.,  55. 
f  Wakidi  (  W.\  414. 


The  Migration  197 

some  Jewish  support — to  be.  Perhaps  Mohammed 
confirmed  them  in  this  view  of  the  situation.  What 
more  natural  than  that  Allah  should  help  his  wor- 
shippers? The  Khazrajites  returned  home  with 
much  food  for  reflection. 

Thus  we  can  interpret  the  saying  of  the  keen- 
witted Ayeshah.  In  the  civil  war  at  Yathrib  the  side 
that  had  long  been  defeated  had  won  a  signal  victory 
by  the  aid  of  Allah,  the  God  of  the  Jews.  The  Jews 
however  care  little  to  make  proselytes,  and  took  no 
advantage  of  the  event  for  religious  propaganda. 
But  some  of  the  defeated  side  learned  of  a  man 
who  could  obtain  for  them  the  favour  of  Allah,  and  so 
were  disposed  to  give  a  favourable  hearing  to  Mo- 
hammed's preaching;  and  to  the  victors  the  name  of 
Allah  was  associated  with  success,  and  they  were  not 
willing  that  the  favour  of  his  assistance  should  be 
transferred  to  those  whom  they  had  defeated.  The 
expedient  which  had  originally  been  intended  for 
the  continuance  of  the  civil  war  resulted  in  uniting 
the  parties.  The  Jews  of  Yathrib,  impolitic  and  un- 
foreseeing  in  the  extreme,  are  likely  to  have  attested 
the  correctness  of  the  first  principles  of  Islam  which 
reached  them — the  Unity  of  God,  necessitating  the 
destruction  of  idols,  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead ;  the  fact  that  prayer  was  to  be  directed 
towards  their  Temple  clenched  the  matter.  More- 
over a  century  before  they  had  made  a  convert 
of  an  Arab  chieftain  who  had  established  a  Jewish 
throne  in  South  Arabia.  Further,  there  are  classical 
precedents  of  a  prophet  being  called  in  to  treat 
a  state  which   was  suffering   from   stasis   (internal 


1 98  Mohammed 

dissension) ;  some  new  cult  was  the  expedient 
whereby  the  disease  was  curable.  Such  precedents 
were  not  indeed  known  to  the  Yathribites,  but  his- 
tory is  homogeneous.  Hence  the  soil  of  Yathrib 
was  thoroughly  prepared  for  Islam.  In  a  healthy 
community  like  that  of  Meccah  it  gained  no  hold; 
but  in  one  that  was  ailing  from  long  years  of  civil 
strife  it  could  spread  apace. 

At  next  year's  feast  the  Khazrajites  returned, 
their  numbers  increased  to  twelve,  a  few  members  of 
the  rival  faction  accompanying  them.  These  persons 
were  inaugurated  in  the  elements  of  Islam  and  put 
through  a  rough  catechism :  they  were  made  to 
promise  to  abstain  from  infanticide,  theft,  adultery, 
and  lying,  and  to  obey  Mohammed  in  lawful  things. 
One  of  Mohammed's  followers — a  man  resembling 
him  in  appearance,  and  on  whose  suavity  and  amia- 
bility he  could  rely,* — Mus'ab,  son  of  'Umair,  was 
sent  back  with  them  to  lead  prayer,  and  teach  them 
such  portions  of  the  Koran  as  had  already  become 
part  of  the  ritual.  This  was  Mohammed's  first 
choice  of  a  lieutenant.  When  they  returned — for 
only  one  or  two  of  them  remained  f  at  Meccah — 
their  numbers,  increased  probably  by  clients  and 
dependents,  speedily  grew  to  forty,  and  a  place  for 
prayer  was  extemporised  in  the  Harrah  of  the  Banu 
Bayadah,  a  clan  of  the  Khazraj.  % 

By  what  means  the  converts  spread  their  religion 
among  the  people  of  Yathrib  we  do  not  know.     But 


* Ibn  Sa'dy  Hi.,  82. 

\Ibn  Sad II.,  ii.,  93,  128,  131. 

\Ishak,  290. 


The  Migration  199 

the  missionary  whom  Mohammed  had  sent  was  an 
earnest  man.  In  early  life  he  had  been  a  fop,  who 
rejoiced  in  fine  raiment  and  dainty  perfumes.  He 
had  concealed  his  conversion  till  the  secret  was  be- 
trayed to  his  parents  by  one  who  saw  him  pray. 
Then  he  openly  espoused  the  cause,  losing  his  all. 
He  fled  to  Abyssinia,  and  returned  with  the  others. 
Poverty  and  privation  had  changed  his  dainty  com- 
plexion so  that  the  Prophet  wept  to  see  it ;  rags 
scarcely  sufficient  to  cover  him  were  the  substitute 
for  his  smart  apparel.  Presently  a  martyr's  death 
awaited  him.  If  other  Moslems  reaped  some  of 
their  reward  in  this  world  the  first  Refugee  reaped 
none.  Fops  and  dandies  were  thought  good  ma- 
terial by  Epictetus,  who  perhaps  knew  men  well. 

A  valuable  convert  won  by  him  almost  as  soon  as 
he  had  arrived  was  Mohammed,  son  of  Maslamah,* 
a  namesake  of  the  Prophet,  in  his  thirty-first  year ; 
but  the  persons  whose  conversion  decided  the  fortunes 
of  Islam  at  Yathrib  were  two  chieftains  of  the  Aus, 
Usaid,  son  of  Huraith,  and  Sa'd,  son  of  Mu'adh. 
The  conversion  of  both  is  told  with  the  same 
formulae ;  each  approaches  the  missionary  with 
threats,  is  persuaded  to  listen  and  is  charmed  by  the 
Siren's  song.  The  rights  of  clients  and  of  kindred 
furnish  some  of  the  machinery  here  as  so  often. 
As'ad,  son  of  Zurarah,  is  the  Khazrajite  in  whose 
protection  the  missionary  is  dwelling  at  Yathrib. 
The  Ausite  chief,  Sa'd,  son  of  Mu'adh,  is  his  cousin  : 
hence  the  protection  of  the  missionary  falls  partly  on 
Sa'd,  who  is  induced  to  hear  him  on  the  pretext  that 

+Ibn  Sa'd  II.,  ii.,  19. 


200  Mohammed 

his  cousin  is  likely  to  suffer  injury  for  his  opinions. 
But  if  the  idea  of  the  first  converts  was,  as  the  histo- 
rian says,  to  heal  the  ulcer  which  was  ruining  Yathrib 
by  introducing  a  religion  which  would  unify  the  com- 
batants, Mus'ab's  audience  had  been  well  prepared 
for  his  sermons.  In  the  case  of  these  men  we  might 
well  look  for  analogies  in  the  lists  of  conversions 
which  some  recent  writers  have  collected.  Earnest- 
ness and  asceticism,  joined  to  refinement,  effect 
wonders.  A  roseate  picture  could  be  drawn  of  the 
Prophet,  somewhat  like  those  which  devout  Moham- 
medans so  often  paint.  Perhaps  the  Jewish  hopes 
of  a  Messiah  were  recalled  to  these  allies  of  the  Ku- 
raizah  and  Nadir,  and  their  chieftains  urged  to 
seize,  while  it  was  still  there,  the  chance  of  securing 
him  for  themselves.  It  was  to  Allah,  the  God  who 
had  won  the  battle  of  Bu'ath,  that  the  missionary 
summoned  them ;  and  his  representative  was  to  be 
not  one  of  the  Jews,  but  a  distant  connexion  of  one 
of  the  Yathribite  tribes.  A  later  age  than  ours  may 
know  something  definite  about  the  physical  or 
psychological  conditions  which  determine  the  propo- 
gation  of  idea-germs  ;  to  us  the  process  is  absolutely 
mysterious.  Whatever  the  arguments  employed, 
Mus'ab  succeeded.  Sa'd,  son  of  Mu'adh,  became  so 
enthusiastic  about  his  new  faith  that  he  not  only 
brought  Mus'ab  and  As'ad  into  his  lodge*  but 
vowed  to  hold  converse  with  none  of  his  clan,  the 
Banu  Abd  al-Ashhal,  till  they  were  converted  ;  and 
this  energetic  measure  led  to  the  conversion  of  the 
whole  clan.f  In  the  sequel  he  maintains  the  character 

*I6n  Sa'd  II,  ii.,  2.  \  Isabah. 


The  Migration  201 

of  the  fanatical  convert.  And  when  these  chieftains 
had  been  won  to  the  new  movement,  Islam  became 
fashionable  at  Yathrib.  Soon  there  was  only  one 
clan  (the  Ausallah)  left  in  Yathrib  of  which  no  mem- 
ber was  a  Moslem.  Yet  some  years  elapsed  before 
the  blood-feud  between  the  Aus  and  the  Khazraj 
was  forgotten,  and  desultory  murders  continued  for 
a  time.  * 

What  the  Jews  of  Yathrib  thought  of  the  new 
movement  we  know  not ;  when  the  Prophet's  regime 
began  to  fall  heavily  on  them  there  were  not 
wanting  persons  among  them  who  professed  to  have 
foretold  it  all;  but  it  is  probable  that  they  favoured 
any  movement  which  was  likely  to  result  in  quiet 
and  security.  It  was  not  Mohammed's  custom  to 
break  with  people  till  he  was  quite  sure  of  the  upper 
hand,  and  till  he  left  Meccah  he  probably  was  on 
good  terms  with  the  Jews  there,  from  whom  favour- 
able reports  might  spread  to  their  brethren  at  the 
northern  oasis.  The  tradition  makes  a  Jew  the  first 
to  recognise  the  Prophet  on  his  arrival,  which  would 
imply  that  accurate  accounts  of  him  had  circulated 
between  the  Israelites  of  the  two  cities. 

Of  the  other  magnates  of  Yathrib  the  only  figure 
of  interest  is  Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy,  who  has 
already  appeared  on  the  scene.  This  "arch-Hypo- 
crite" was  a  man  who  commanded  respect  by  his 
talents  and  virtues — both  of  them  of  a  sort  which  is 
of  little  use  to  a  statesman,  especially  in  times  of 
trouble  and  confusion.  He  disliked  bloodshed  ;  he 
abhorred  treachery.     His  mental  powers  placed  him 

*  Isabah,  iii.,  1 1 79. 


202  Mohammed 

above  all  the  theological  disputants ;  he  cared  little 
for  these  things.  When  he  tried  to  interfere  in 
politics  he  failed  through  want  of  practice,  of  readi- 
ness, and  of  dexterity. 

Once  Islam  had  begun  to  spread  in  Yathrib  the 
younger  converts  burned  to  give  some  exhibition  of 
their  zeal.  Idols  were  attached  to  dogs  and  sunk  in 
wells,  and  that  which  was  too  much  honoured  be- 
forehand  was  now  eagerly  trampled  in  the  dust; 
in  their  enthusiasm  for  the  new  God  the  fiery  prose- 
lytes indulged  in  a  fit  of  iconoclasm — breaking  the 
heads  of  idols,  instead  of  those  of  the  rival  tribesmen. 
Fetishes  have  a  bad  time  when  their  devotees  can 
be  got  to  wake  up ;  and  the  people  of  Yathrib 
were  now  wide  awake — on  this  subject.  *  Of  the 
Propket's  own  reflections  and  deliberations  during 
this  period  we  have  no  record.  He  was  of  course 
kept  constantly  informed  of  what  was  going  on  in 
Yathrib,  and  regularly  sent  instructions  to  his 
agent,  f  As  the  reports  of  that  agent's  success 
reached  him  he  began  to  frame  the  scheme  of  con- 
duct to  be  pursued  when  the  invitation  to  Yathrib 
should  arrive.  To  this  able  agent's  communications 
it  may  be  attributed  that  the  Prophet  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  affairs  of  Yathrib  before  he  got 
there. 

The  next  scene  is  what  the  Moslems  call  the 
second  (or  the  third)  Akabah.  The  number  of  con- 
verts who  visit  Meccah  at  the  next  feast  %  is  swollen 


*Isabah,  i.,  452. 

\Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  84. 

I  Or  in  the  month  Rejeb.     Musnad,  iii.,  390. 


The  Migration  203 

to  seventy;  the  party  is  headed  by  As'ad,  son  of 
Zurarah,  followed  by  his  daughter.*  For  the  Mos- 
lems of  Yathrib  had  been  taking  counsel  together 
(probably  at  Mus'ab's  suggestion)  saying,  "  How 
long  shall  we  leave  the  Prophet  of  God  to  wander 
about  the  mountains  in  fear  of  his  life  ?  "  f  At  dead 
of  night  they  meet  the  Prophet  at  the  appointed 
place,  the  ravine  under  the  hill  of  Akabah.  An  in- 
vitation can  now  be  given  him  to  come  over  to 
Yathrib,  and  allegiance  definitely  sworn  him.  At 
the  first  Akabah  the  neophytes  had  promised  very 
little:  to  keep  about  half  the  ten  commandments. 
At  the  second,  we  are  told,  they  promised  something 
more :  to  fight  men  of  all  colours  in  order  to  defend 
the  faith.  For  meanwhile,  as  the  Moslems  put  it, 
the  use  of  the  sword  had  been  divinely  authorised. 
It  seems  however  that  this  is  projecting  into  the 
past  the  theory  of  a  later  time;  for  in  the  earliest 
expeditions  of  the  Prophet  the  Helpers  took  no  part, 
their  contract  binding  them  to  defensive  but  not 
offensive  operations.  Still  there  must  have  been 
something  in  the  attitude  of  the  Prophet's  followers 
or  the  nature  of  his  utterances,  since  the  prospect  of 
the  sovereignty  of  Yathrib  had  been  opened  out, 
which  rendered  it  probable  that  he  would  embark  on 
such  an  enterprise.  As'ad,  son  of  Zurarah,  put  be- 
fore his  hearers  the  momentous  character  of  the 
undertaking  to  which  they  were  binding  themselves, 
but  there  were  no  faint-hearts  among  them.  %    The 

*  Isabah,  iii.,  1 135. 
f  Musnad,  iii.,  322. 
\Ibid.%  323. 


204  Mohammed 

Prophet  even  nominated  officials — twelve,  in  im- 
itation of  the  number  of  the  Apostles — to  preside 
over  the  new  community.  * 

The  meeting  was  secret,  and  only  accomplices 
knew  of  it.  But  a  secret  cannot  well  be  kept 
between  seventy  persons,  and  next  morning  Meccah 
knew  that  the  Prophet  whom  they  had  rejected  had 
secured  an  alliance  and  a  retreat  likely  to  be  more 
valuable  than  Axum ;  for  to  Yathrib  there  was  no 
sea  to  traverse,  and,  more  important  still,  its  people 
were  to  be  not  Mohammed's  patrons,  but  his  sub- 
jects. Remonstrances  were  directed  to  some  Yath- 
ribites  who  were  in  Meccah,  but  they,  not  being  in 
the  secret,  could  only  express  surprise.  An  abortive 
attempt  was  made  to  retain  as  hostages  some  of 
those  who  had  sworn,  and  Sa'd,  son  of  Ubadah, 
received  some  rough  treatment  before  he  was  allowed 
to  escape.  But  the  Meccan  rulers  were  not  men 
who  could  either  foresee  emergencies  or  know  how 
to  act  when  one  arrived.  Vaguely  indeed  they 
could  perceive  that  their  enemy  had  won  to  his  side 
a  city  which  lay  on  the  main  route  of  their  caravans. 
Rather  less  vaguely  they  may  have  been  aware  that 
men  only  preach  patience  under  injuries  when  they 
have  no  chance  of  avenging  them,  and  that  the 
scruples  which  had  fettered  their  own  action  might 
be  abrogated  by  a  messenger  from  heaven. 

The  second  Akabah  was  followed  by  an  exodus 


*  Our  authorities  make  Abbas  secure  that  the  Prophet  shall  enjoy 
the  same  protection  at  Yathrib  as  he  was  enjoying  at  Meccah.  Since 
Mohammed  was  enjoying  the  protection  of  Mut'im,  son  of  'Adi,  this 
is  probably  a  fiction  to  glorify  the  Abbasides. 


The  Migration  205 

from  Meccah.  Some  persons  had  even  made  their 
escape  after  the  first  Akabah,  so  soon  as  the  prospect 
of  refuge  at  Yathrib  was  opened  out ;  Abdallah, 
son  of  Abd  al-As'ad,  was  named  as  the  first 
Refugee.  *  The  Meccans  tried  to  stop  the  flight  of 
their  fellow-citizens;  some  they  pursued  and  even 
brought  back  by  force  or  deceit,  some,  precluded 
from  access  to  the  new  refuge,  fell  away  and 
returned  to  paganism.  Omar,  Hisham,  son  of 
Al'Asi,  and  'Ayyash  made  an  arrangement  to  escape 
together;  Omar  and  'Ayyash  got  away,  but  Hisham 
was  detained,  and  'Ayyash  was  afterwards  lured 
back,  f  Of  one  man,  Nu'aim,  son  of  Sallam,  famous 
as  a  philanthropist,  it  is  recorded  that  the  Meccans, 
fearing  to  lose  the  advantage  of  his  presence,  per- 
suaded him  to  stay,  with  the  right  of  holding  any 
religion  he  chose.  But  the  same  half-heartedness 
which  led  to  the  collapse  of  the  Meccan  resistance 
made  most  of  their  measures  abortive.  Of  those  who 
wished  to  escape  the  greater  number  succeeded. 
Some  had  relatives  in  Medinah  on  whom  they  could 
quarter  themselves;  as  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu  Wakkas,  a 
brother  of  whose  had  fled  from  Meccah  through 
blood-guiltiness,  and  settled  at  Kuba.  \  Lots  were 
drawn  by  the  converts  at  Yathrib  for  the  honour  of 
entertaining  the  other  Refugees  §  ;  as  a  poet  of  the 
Helpers  afterwards  boasted,  ||  they  shared  their  pos- 
sessions with  the  newcomers,  as  in  old  times  the 

*  Said  to  have  arrived  Muharram  10.     Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  171. 

\  Ibn  Sa'd,  194. 

X  /bid.,  iii.,  99. 

§  Bokhari  (A'.),  ii.,  163. 

\Isabah,  iii.,  1 157. 


206  Mohammed 

camels  were  shared  by  the  arrow-game.  Sa'd,  son  of 
al-Rabi',  offered  Abd  al-Rahman,  son  of  'Auf,  the 
half  of  his  property,  including  one  of  his  wives.*  So 
liberally  were  the  Refugees  treated  that  they  began 
to  fear  their  colleagues  might  get  the  whole  of  the 
heavenly  reward,  f  A  place  of  worship  was  started 
at  Kuba — one  hour's  distance  from  Yathrib,  in  the 
direction  of  Meccah — and  Salim,  freedman  of  Abu 
Hudhaifah,  owing  to  his  acquaintance  with  the 
Koran,  was  made  minister  there.  J 

The  sagacious  founder  of  Islam  waited  till  the  end, 
though  Abu  Bakr  kept  urging  him  to  leave,  and 
cried  for  joy  when  at  last  he  resolved  to  do  so.§ 
The  faith  of  the  people  of  Yathrib  was  to  be  tested 
before  the  Prophet  committed  himself  to  them.  If 
they  were  to  receive  him,  they  must  first  receive 
his  followers.  If  they  welcomed  in  the  name  of 
Allah  and  his  Prophet  all  those  hungry  mouths,  the 
Prophet  might  leave  his  stronghold  and  enter  into 
his  palace.  But  even  if  the  people  of  Yathrib  should 
prove  fickle,  these  Refugees  would  form  a  bodyguard 
of  desperate  men,  of  whose  loyalty  he  could  be 
absolutely  sure.  "  When  we  return,"  said  a  Hypo- 
crite at  a  later  time,  "  the  stronger  of  us  shall  eject 
the  weaker."  The  stronger  were  those  who  had 
sacrificed  every  hope  and  every  conviction  to  one. 

The  departure  from  Meccah  was  brought  about  by 
the  action  of  Mohammed's  enemies.      The  idea  of  a 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  190. 
f  Ibid.,  200. 
\  Isabah,  ii.,  no. 
§  Tabari,  i„  1238. 


The  Migration  207 

man  having  friends  and  adherents  of  a  new  sort 
alarmed  them ;  the  defence  of  the  madman  by  his 
kindred  had  been  entirely  in  accordance  with  their 
views  of  what  was  proper,  and  provoked  no  resent- 
ment. But  when  for  protecting  kindred  there  was 
substituted  a  guard  of  followers,  belonging  to  a  dif- 
ferent city  and  different  tribes,  some  of  the  most 
intelligent  realised  in  a  dim  way  to  what  consequen- 
ces that  might  lead.  Arabia  would  have  remained 
pagan  had  there  been  a  man  in  Meccah  who  could 
strike  a  blow  ;  who  would  act,  and  be  ready  to  accept 
the  responsibility  for  acting.  But  many  as  were  Mo- 
hammed's ill-wishers,  there  was  not  one  of  them  who 
had  this  sort  of  courage ;  and,  as  has  been  seen,  there 
was  no  magistracy  by  which  he  could  be  tried.  The 
history  tells  how  they  met  in  their  Senate-house, 
and  bethought  them  of  one  plan  after  another ;  and 
the  final  issue  was  that  Mohammed  should  be  assas- 
sinated, every  tribe  in  Meccah  sending  a  representa- 
tive to  take  part  in  the  murder.  Mohammed's  tribe, 
too  weak  to  demand  blood-vengeance  from  all  the 
other  tribes,  would  have  to  accept  blood-money, 
which  would  be  easily  paid,  perhaps  even  readily 
received.  Abu  Bakr's  son  Abdallah  possessed 
some  talent  for  espionage,  and  managed  to  be  pre- 
sent at  their  deliberations.*  The  resolute  man  with 
whom  they  were  dealing  was  quickly  apprized  of 
this  design,  and  had  his  measures  ready  for  out- 
witting it.  When  the  trembling  conspirators  reached 
his  house,  to  execute  their  melodrama  as  he  rose 
from  sleep,  he  was  not  there.    He  had  escaped  from 

*  Isabah^  ii.,  619. 


208  Mohammed 

a  window  in  the  back  of  Abu  Bakr's  house,  accom- 
panied by  Abu  Bakr,  who  took  with  him  five  thou- 
sand dirhems — all  that  remained  to  him  of  his 
fortune.*  The  son-in-law,  AH,  was  sleeping  in 
Mohammed's  blanket,  and  would  have  served  for  a 
hostage.  But  the  Kurashites  were  too  chivalrous 
to  take  so  mean  an  advantage  of  their  foe.  They 
satisfied  themselves  with  offering  a  reward  of  one 
hundred  camels  for  the  heads  of  the  Prophet  and 
Abu  Bakr,  f  and  employing  professional  trackers  to 
follow  their  trail.  % 

When  convicts  escape  from  prison,  their  plan  is, 
it  is  said,  §  to  hide  in  the  neighbourhood  for  three 
days,  before  they  seek  another  country.  The  hue 
and  cry  has  then  calmed  down,  and  not  every  man 
they  meet  is  a  detective.  Mohammed's  plan  was 
the  same.  Before  leaving  Meccah  a  refuge  was  se- 
cured, known  ever  since  as  the  Cave.  It  is  in  the 
mountain  called  Thaur,  in  the  region  called  Mafjar; 
to  the  south  of  Meccah.  Few  of  the  Meccans  were 
cunning  enough  to  search  for  him  in  the  direction 
which  was  opposite  to  that  in  which  Yathrib  lay ;  or 
if  they  searched,  they  failed  to  find  the  hiding-place, 
though  one  Kurz,  son  of  'Alkamah,  professed  after- 
wards to  have  followed  the  Prophet's  trail  as  far  as 
the  Cave. ||  A  few  trusty  persons  were  admitted  to 
the  secret.     One  was  'Amir,  son  of  Fuhayrah,  freed- 

*  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  122. 
\  Musnad,  iv.,  176. 
\  Muruj  al-dhahab,  i.,  233. 

§  Boisgob/,    Trente  ann/es  d'aventures.      Mohammed's  followers 
did  the  same  :   Wakidi  (W.),  171. 
\Isabah%  iii.,  585. 


The  Migration  209 

man  of  Abu  Bakr,  and  an  early  convert,  whose  con- 
version had  won  him  his  liberty :  he  served  in  Abu 
Bakr's  household,  and  presently  shared  his  em- 
ployer's camel  in  the  flight.  He  undertook  the 
difficult  task  of  providing  the  fugitives  with  food, 
visiting  the  Cave  at  evening  for  this  purpose — so 
we  read  ;  but  the  convicts  who  stock  their  lurking 
places  with  provisions  beforehand  do  more  wisely, 
and  Mohammed's  forethought  was  not  less  than 
theirs.  Another  was  a  guide  who  knew  the  way 
from  Meccah  to  Yathrib ;  which  Keane  says  is  375 
miles  by  the  shortest  road,  but  Burton  puts  at 
248.  This  guide  was  a  pagan  called  Abdallah,  son 
of  Arkat,  *  who  kept  the  camels  which  had  been  pro- 
cured for  this  journey,  and  brought  them  to  the  Cave 
at  the  appointed  time.  The  Prophet  afterwards 
recorded  in  the  Koran  how  he  and  his  companion 
had  waited  by  themselves  in  the  Cave,  and  how  he 
had  prophetically  assured  Abu  Bakr  of  the  assistance 
of  God,  and  told  him  not  to  grieve,  f  Nor  need  we 
doubt  that  Mohammed,  whose  mental  powers  were 
at  their  best  in  times  of  extreme  danger,  comported 
himself  with  coolness  and  courage. 

The  distance  then  which  the  fugitives  proposed  to 
traverse  was  about  equal  to  that  between  London 
and  Newcastle,  or  perhaps  London  and  Edinburgh. 
Those  who  have  accomplished  this  journey  once 
only  do  not  make  light  of  its  difficulties  and  terrors. 
Part  of  it  lies  over  bare  rocks,  through  narrow  ra- 
vines; part  over  a  great  glaring  dirty  plain. 

*  Different  accounts  were  current  of  his  origin  and  status, 
f  Sura h  ix.,  40.         t    m 


2 1  o  Mohammed 

"  Every  yard  into  that  dead  barren  waste  with  its  con- 
stant flitting  mirage  phantoms,  made  you  feel  more 
dismal  and  insignificant  than  an  hundred  miles  into  the 
bright,  sparkling,  briny  ocean  :  even  the  Red  Sea  itself, 
with  a  temperature  of  one  hundred  degrees  in  the  shade, 
is  nothing  to  the  desert  for  downright  misery  and  help- 
lessness." 

So  writes  Keane ;  Burckhardt  compares  part  of  the 
way  to  the  Nubian  desert.  Burton  speaks  of  the 
same  as  "  a  desert  peopled  only  with  sand :  a  place 
of  death  for  what  little  there  to  die  in  it :  Nature 
scalped,  flayed,  discovering  all  her  skeleton  to  the 
gazer's  eye."  The  Egyptian  Soubhi,  having  to  go 
from  Meccah  to  Medinah,  envies  the  European 
travellers  in  Switzerland  or  the  South  of  France. 

The  hesitation  of  Mohammed  to  migrate  to  Yath- 
rib  may  have  been  in  part  due  to  unwillingness 
to  encounter  those  physical  horrors,  which,  though 
less  trying  to  an  Arab  than  to  a  European,  are 
not  likely  to  have  been  underrated  :  and  indeed 
he  hated  travelling,*  and  in  the  Koran  couples 
exile  with  death.  +  The  Prophet  was,  like  many 
men,  timid  at  the  start,  courageous  when  he  had 
experience. 

The  road  followed  by  the  guide  appears  to  have 
been  not  quite  identical  with  any  of  the  four  men- 
tioned by  Burton.  The  first  two  days'  journey 
brought  them  near  Usfan,  thirty-six  miles  from 
Meccah ;  this  is  at  the  extreme  edge  of  the  hills, 
and  apparently  retained  its  name  as  late  as  Burck- 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  107. 

\  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  326. 


The  Migration  2 1 1 

hardt's  time.  Of  the  rest  of  the  names  that  figure 
in  the  narrative  of  the  Prophet's  flight  few  would 
seem  to  be  known  to  European  travellers.  The 
guide  intentionally  followed  bye-paths,  only  occa- 
sionally crossing  the  ordinary  route.  The  true  form 
of  some  of  the  names  was  doubtful  in  the  third  cent- 
ury of  Islam.  The  fabulous  incidents  with  which 
some  of  the  chronicles  embellish  the  journey  need 
not  be  repeated,  but  it  is  characteristic  that  when 
they  reached  'Arj,  and  Mohammed  was  told  that  the 
land  belonged  to  the  tribe  Aslam,  whose  name  means 
"  safest,"  the  Prophet  gladly  accepted  the  omen.  * 
His  camel  broke  down  here,  and  another  was  sup- 
plied him  by  a  member  of  the  tribe;  according  to 
one  account,  one  of  a  family  with  whom  a  daughter 
of  Abu  Bakr  was  being  nursed,  which  also  supplied 
a  guide  acquainted  with  a  short  cut  to  Medinahf 
over  the  difficult  mountain  called  Rakubah,  where 
the  Prophet  succeeded  in  pressing  a  couple  of  robbers 
into  his  service. :f  The  Aslam  were  a  branch  of  the 
Khuza'ah,  and  in  conciliating  them  the  Prophet  had 
taken  the  first  step  towards  the  recovery  of  Meccah  ; 
for,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Khuza'ah  remembered  that 
they  had  been  ousted  from  their  privileges  by  the 
Kuraish.  §  It  is  not  certain  that  the  Meccan  pur- 
suers went  far  on  the  road  to  Medinah,  and  it  is 
likely  that  the  Kurashite  leaders^  guiltless  of  fore- 
thought, congratulated  themselves  on  being  rid  of 

*  Perhaps,  however,  this  story  is  an  embellishment  by  the  biog* 
rapher.     Similar  tales  are  often  told. 

If  Isabah,  ii.,  180. 
\  MusnaJ,  iv.,  74. 
§  Cf .  Wcllhausen,  Wakidi,  320,  374. 


212  Mohammed 

their  vexatious  countrymen  without  bloodshed. 
'Akil,  an  unconverted  son  of  Abu  Talib,  seized  and 
sold  the  dwellings  of  Mohammed  and  the  other  Mos- 
lem members  of  his  family  * ;  and  a  similar  raid  was 
made  on  the  houses  and  goods  of  the  other  Re- 
fugees. For  a  time  the  city  was  to  enjoy  complete 
rest. 

On  Monday  the  8th  of  Rabi'  I  of  the  year  I  A.H., 
corresponding  to  September  20  of  the  year  622  A.D., 
the  Prophet  reached  Kuba,  now  a  great  place  for  gar- 
dens and  orchards.  Here  the  guide  left  them  and 
returned  to  inform  Abu  Bakr's  family  of  his  safe 
arrival.f  He  arrived  there  at  midday  and  the  neo- 
phytes could  not  tell  which  was  the  Prophet  and 
which  Abu  Bakr,  both  being  clothed  in  white  gar- 
ments sent  them  by  Talhah,  son  of  Ubaidallah  :£; 
presently,  however,  they  saw  the  latter  shading 
the  former  with  his  coat,  and  they  had  been  taught 
thus  much,  that  a  Prophet  comes  to  be  served. 
Hospitality  was  offered  by  an  aged  convert,  Kul- 
thum,  son  of  Hind,  the  name  of  whose  slave  "  Suc- 
cess "  seemed  to  the  Prophet  of  good  augury.  §  It 
was  accepted,  though  for  receptions  the  house  of 
another  convert  was  found  to  be  more  convenient. 
At  Kuba  they  determined  to  remain  till  Ali  joined 
them,  which  happened  on  the  Thursday ;  with  him 
was  Suhaib,  son  of  Sinan,  ||  who  had  been  forced  to 
hand  over  his  savings  to  the  Kuraish.     Iconoclasm 

*  Azraki,  389. 
\Isabah,  ii.,  696. 
\Ibn  ScCd\\\.,  122. 
§  Isabah,  iii.,  1138. 
\Ibn  .SaV  iii.,  163. 


The  Migration  2 1 3 

appears  to  have  been  rife  among  the  inhabitants  and 
the  Prophet  is  said  to  have  started  the  building  of  a 
mosque — a  matter  about  which  there  is,  however, 
some  doubt.  There  is  evidence  that  the  people  of 
Kuba  afterwards  manifested  some  pique  at  the 
Prophet's  failing  to  make  their  village  his  perman- 
ent residence.  Since  Yathrib  was  so  close,  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  all  the  city  would  have 
come  out  to  Kuba  to  bring  their  Prophet  home  in 
state;  inhabitants  of  Eastern  cities  will  ride  out 
many  hours'  journey  to  welcome  guests  of  moderate 
distinction.  Since  the  people  of  Yathrib  did  not  do 
this,  it  is  probable  that  the  cautious  Prophet,  who 
had  escaped  from  Meccah  with  such  skill,  like 
Ulysses  of  old  at  first  kept  the  fact  of  his  arrival  a 
secret  known  to  the  select  few ;  and  indeed  Abu 
Bakr,  who  was  known  to  the  people  on  the  road, 
when  asked  who  his  companion  was,  replied,  "  a 
guide  to  lead  me."  *  The  Prophet  was  not  a  man 
to  accept  roseate  statements  without  some  scep- 
ticism. From  Kuba  he  communicated  the  fact  of 
his  arrival  to  As'ad  Ibn  Zurarah  and  other  converts 
at  Yathrib,  but  his  time  was  doubtless  well  spent  in 
finding  out  the  truth  about  the  welcome  he  was  to 
receive. 

On  the  Friday  f  the  Prophet  rode  from  Kuba  to- 
wards Yathrib,  and  is  said  to  have  performed  service 
in  the  Wadi  Ra'unah,  which  forms  the  route  between 
the  two  places.     This  appears  to  be  an  anachronism  ; 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  122. 

\  Anas,  son  of  Malik,  makes  the  Prophet  stay  fourteen  days  at 
Kuba.     Musnad,  iii.,  212. 


214  Mohammed 

the  adoption  of  Friday  as  a  sacred  day  came  later, 
at  the  suggestion  of  a  Medinese,  and  after  the  rela- 
tions with  the  Jews  had  become  unfriendly ;  and, 
indeed,  confirmation  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  of 
his  choosing  the  Friday 'for  travelling.  It  is  as- 
serted that  each  tribe  by  which  he  passed  desired 
the  honour  of  his  presence  and  requested  him  to 
take  up  his  abode  with  them ;  that  he  refused  all 
these  offers,  in  order  to  excite  no  jealousy,  and  left 
it  to  his  camel  to  choose  a  site ;  it  chose  that  of 
the  future  mosque,  the  Prophet  only  accepting 
hospitality  till  his  own  house  was  built.  Anas  Ibn 
Malik  asserted  that  five  hundred  of  the  Helpers 
came  out  to  meet  him,  *  and  that  an  Abyssinian 
war  dance  was  got  up  by  way  of  welcome,  f  These 
stories  may  or  may  not  be  true.  We  know  that  he 
was  at  first  unable  to  sleep  at  night  owing  to  his 
alarm,  and  could  only  close  his  eyes  when  he  found 
that  some  of  his  faithful  adherents  from  Meccah 
were  mounting  guard.  %  The  terrors  of  the  at- 
tempted assassination  and  of  the  days  and  nights 
in  the  Cave  were  still  on  him.  And  he  was  aware 
also  that  one  of  his  new  adherents,  Nufai',  son  of 
Al-Mu'alla,  had  been  murdered  before  his  arrival 
in  consequence  of  the  blood-feud.  § 

Till  a  residence  had  been  built  for  him  he  had 
lodgings  in  the  house  of  Khalid,  son  of  Zaid,  a 
Khazrajite  who  was   among   the    earliest   converts 


*  Musnad,  iii. ,  222. 
f  Ibid.,  161. 
%  Isabah,  ii.,  163. 
§  Ibn  Duraid,  271. 


The  Migration  2 1 5 

from  Yathrib,  and  who  was  on  an  intimate  footing 
with  Mus'ab,  son  of  'Umair,  the  missionary  whom 
he  had  despatched  to  prepare  the  way.  An  early 
step  taken  by  him  was  to  create  between  some  of 
his  chief  followers  from  Meccah  with  converts  of 
Medinah  a  relationship  which  he  called  brother- 
hood, and  which  was  to  involve  many  of  the  rights 
which  belonged  to  that  name.  He  had  tried  the 
same  method  before,  and  so  successfully  broke  down 
the  superstition  about  kinship.  The  measure  at 
Medinah  appears  to  have  been  a  temporary  one 
only,  and  to  have  been  abrogated  after  the  battle  of 
Badr.* 

That  the  office  of  a  Prophet  involved  all  the  du- 
ties of  a  King,  and  both  religious  and  political  head- 
ship, was  doubtless  understood  by  him.  And  we 
can  imagine  the  delight  with  which  a  man  thor- 
oughly qualified  for  ruling  found  himself  at  last  in  a 
position  in  which  his  talents  could  be  exercised.  He 
did  not,  however,  enter  upon  all  his  duties  at  once. 
For  a  time  the  old  soothsayers  continued  to  retain 
some  of  their  clients,  when  disputants  required  their 
differences  settled,!  though  presently  resort  to  them 
was  forbidden,  under  pain  of  forfeiting  the  merits  of 
forty  days'  prayers  \\  and  their  fees  were  declared 
illegal. §  The  rudimentary  organisation  which  had 
existed  among  the  tribes  before  his  arrival  did  not 
immediately   disappear.     Gradually,   however,    the 


+  Ibn  Sa'd II.  %  ii.,  Ill,  etc 
f  Wahidi,  121. 
\Musnad,  iv.,  68. 
%/did.,  1 1 8. 


2 1 6  Mohammed 

principle  that  all  authority  emanated  from  Mo- 
hammed permeated  the  constitution  of  Medinah. 
He  claimed  the  right  to  depose  the  heads  of  tribes 
and  replace  them  by  chiefs  of  his  own  choice.*  Dis- 
putes between  his  followers  were  naturally  brought 
to  him  to  settle,  and  presently  disputes  between 
them  and  their  neighbours. 

He  inherited  the  devotion  and  adulation  which 
had  hitherto  been  bestowed  on  the  idols  ;  and  though 
he  never  permitted  the  word  worship  to  be  used  of 
the  ceremonies  of  which  he  was  the  object,  he  ere 
long  became  hedged  in  with  a  state  which  differed 
little  from  that  which  surrounded  a  god.  \  Enthusi- 
astic converts  habitually  struggled  for  the  honour  of 
washing  in  the  water  which  the  Prophet  had  used 
for  his  ablution,  and  then  drinking  it  upi  Ere  long 
he  took  to  bottling  up  the  precious  liquid  and  send- 
ing it,  after  the  style  of  the  relics  of  saints,  to  new 
adherents.  When  he  employed  the  services  of  a 
barber,  the  Moslems  crowded  round,  and  even 
scrambled  for  the  hair,f  and  nail-parings,  which 
they  preserved  as  charms  and  relics.;):  The  ease  of 
approach  which  had  characterised  the  old  Bedouin 
chiefs  was  soon  prohibited,  and  a  divine  revelation 
forbade  the  Moslems  to  address  the  Prophet  as  they 
addressed  each  other.  At  one  time  he  commanded 
his  followers  to  make  an  offering  to  the  poor  before 
they  addressed  him,  but  this  had  to  be  rescinded.  § 


*  Ibn  Duraid,  274 ;    Wakidi  (  W.\  249. 
\  Musnad,  iii.,  133. 
%  Ibn  Sa'dH.,  ii.,  87. 
^  Surah  lviii.,  13. 


The  Migration  217 

He  made  a  rule  to  enter  no  house  of  Medinah  with 
one  exception  save  his  own,*  and  perhaps  broke  it 
only  when  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  administer  the 
last  consolations  to  the  dying ;  but  after  a  time  it 
became  the  custom  to  bring  the  dying  or  dead  to 
him.f  Yet  from  costly  paraphernalia,  such  as  pleased 
the  childish  taste  of  other  monarchs,  he  abstained  to 
the  end ;  he  rejected  a  proposal  of  Omar  that  he 
should  purchase  a  silken  robe  in  which  to  receive 
deputations ;  neither  when  his  resources  were  slender 
nor  when  they  were  swollen  were  they  ever  wasted 
on  jewels  or  mosaics  or  cloth  of  gold.  They  were 
employed  in  purchasing  arms  and  men. 

The  Koran  at  Medinah  entered  on  a  new  stage  of 
its  existence,  serving  as  a  medium  for  legislation,  and 
so  discharging  the  functions  of  an  oracle,  but  also  as 
an  official  chronicle  in  which  current  events  were 
criticised  from  the  Prophet's  standpoint.  %  To  the 
end  Mohammed  appears  never  to  have  let  even  his 
most  intimate  associates  into  the  secret  of  his  reve- 
lations; though  at  times  he  gave  notice  in  advance  of 
the  import  of  a  future  revelation,  and  affirmed  that 
words  of  his  had  the  same  force  as  the  words  of  God. 
A  whole  staff  of  scribes  presently  came  to  be  em- 
ployed in  taking  down  his  effusions;  and  one  of  them 
is  said  to  have  gone  back  to  paganism  by  observ- 
ing that  the  Prophet  allowed  him  to  write  whatever 


*  Bokhari  (A".),  ii.,  212.  The  contrary  is  asserted  Musnad,  iv., 
393- 

\  Musnad,  iii.,  66. 

JSprenger's  phrase,  "Leading  Articles,"  describes  these  Surahs 
so  accurately  that  it  has  been  adopted  m  the  sequel 


2 1 8  Mohammed 

he  chose.*  The  faithful  however  did  not  reason 
thus.  Omar  records  in  perfectly  good  faith  how 
when  the  Prophet  went  to  say  prayers  over  the  dead 
Hypocrite  Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy,  he  remonstrated 
with  the  Prophet  for  paying  such  honours  to  his 
enemy ;  not  without  astonishment  at  his  own  bold- 
ness in  thus  criticising  the  conduct  of  the  messenger 
of  God.  But  shortly  after  the  Prophet  produced  a 
revelation  "  Pray  not  thou  over  any  of  them  who 
dies  at  any  time,  neither  stand  thou  upon  his  grave." 
To  Omar  the  coincidence  did  not  apparently  suggest 
the  remotest  suspicion  ;  to  us  the  revelation  appears 
to  have  been  nothing  more  than  a  formal  adoption 
of  a  suggestion  of  Omar,  which  the  Prophet  supposed 
to  represent  public  opinion.  On  another  occasion, 
when  Omar  (or  another)  bethought  him  of  having  the 
Call  to  Prayer,  so  as  to  avoid  imitation  of  Jews  and 
Christians,  when  he  communicated  the  suggestion  to 
the  Prophet,  he  found  that  he  had  been  just  antici- 
pated by  the  Angel  Gabriel.  On  three  other  occasions 
he  claimed  to  have  coincided  with  Allah ;  having 
made  a  suggestion  to  the  Prophet,  he  was  presently 
told  that  a  revelation  had  come  down  embodying 
his  idea  in  his  own  words,  f  The  occurrence  flattered 
his  vanity,  but  suggested  no  suspicion  of  imposture. 
Other  followers  were  perhaps  less  simple,  but  were 
aware  of  the  danger  of  ridiculing  the  Koran.  Quar- 
rels occasionally  arose  between  Moslems  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  Koran  had  been  repeated  to  them 
in  different  forms,  and  each  naturally  claimed  that 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  121. 
\Ibid.t  i.,  24. 


The  Migration  219 

his  version  only  was  correct :  the  Prophet,  never  at 
a  loss,  asserted  that  the  Koran  had  been  revealed  in 
no  fewer  than  seven  texts. 

Although  the  notion  that  the  Koran  was  the  word 
of  God  in  the  most  literal  sense  seems  to  have  been 
present  to  the  mind  of  both  the  Prophet  and  his 
followers,  it  is  rather  surprising  that  its  contents 
were  treated  with  the  sort  of  carelessness  which  the 
above  anecdote  illustrates,  but  which  also  appears  in 
other  narratives.  According  to  Ayeshah,  a  text  of 
enormous  importance,  that  in  which  stoning  was 
enjoined  as  the  punishment  for  adultery,  was  on  a 
slip  (of  parchment?)  deposited  under  her  bed,  and 
afterwards  lost.  Casual  reciters  of  the  Koran  re- 
minded the  Prophet  of  texts  which  he  declared  that 
he  had  himself  forgotten.  A  text  of  vast  importance, 
recited  by  Abu  Bakr  after  the  Prophet's  death,  was 
new  to  Omar.  Persons  were  ranged  at  times  in 
order  of  merit  according  to  the  amount  of  the  Koran 
which  they  had  collected,  as  though  the  process  re- 
sembled that  of  collecting  the  Sibyl's  leaves ;  and 
certain  believers  in  the  Prophet's  time  made  it  their 
business  to  collect  it.*  When  asked  by  disputants 
whether  a  certain  Surah  contained  thirty-five  or 
thirty-six  verses,  the  Prophet  only  blushed,  and  gave 
them  to  understand  that  either  would  do.f  The 
Prophet,  who  was  sometimes  taunted   with   being 

I"  all  ears,"  i.  e.,  ready  to  be  guided  by  any  suggestion, 
could  easily  be  got  to  produce  modifying  or  ab- 
rogating revelations,  when  convicted  of  hasty  and 


♦So  Kais  Ibn  Al-Sakan.     Jbn  Sctd  II. %  ii.,  70. 
\Musnadt  i.,  106. 


2  2  o  Mohammed 

impracticable  legislation  ;  but  those  who  pointed  out 
the  flaw  had  to  take  the  greatest  care  to  cast  no 
shadow  of  doubt  on  the  divine  character  of  the 
earlier  oracles.  In  consequence  of  the  Prophet  and 
his  bodyguard  making  absolutely  no  concession  on 
this  point,  the  Prophet  was  able  to  the  end  to 
maintain  his  power  of  producing  oracles  as  a 
deus  ex  machina  to  which  he  could  effectively  re- 
sort whenever  a  serious  emergency  occurred;  and 
the  dread  of  being  made  the  subject  of  a  text  kept 
many  men  from  opposing  the  Prophet  in  any  way 
whatever. 

His  first  task  at  Medinah  was  to  build  a  place  of 
worship,  the  first  church  of  Islam,  unless  it  be  true 
that  the  mosque  of  Kuba  was  yet  earlier.  The  land 
selected  by  his  camel  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  two 
orphans,  whom  the  Prophet  elected  to  pay  for  the 
site  out  of  Abu  Bakr's  purse.  They  were  connected 
in  some  way  with  the  zealous  As'ad,  son  of  Zurarah ; 
yet  it  would  appear  that  Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy  had 
some  claim  on  their  land.*  Of  the  erection  of  the 
first  of  the  mosques  we  read  various  details,  some 
supplied  from  the  imagination.  The  most  probable 
account  seems  to  be  that  the  Prophet  did  not  go  to 
the  trouble  of  building,  but  utilised  a  barn  or  store- 
house which  had  served  for  drying  dates,  and  which 
was  to  be  had  for  a  reasonable  sum.  Some  author- 
ities suggest  that  this  barn  had  been  used  as  a  praying- 
place  before  Mohammed  came  to  Medinah,  and 
considering  how  rarely  the  Prophet  left  anything  to 
chance,  it  is  possible  that  his  camel  had  some  reasons 
*Ibn  Sa'd If.,  ii.,  53. 


The  Migration  221 

for  kneeling  down  at  this  particular  spot.  The 
measurements  are  given  variously ;  perhaps  70  x  60  x  7 
cubits  is  the  most  probable  of  those  recorded.  The 
barn  had  a  roof  of  palm  branches  and  clay,  not  suf- 
ficiently solid  to  keep  out  rain.  In  this  the  Prophet 
found  an  analogy  to  the  Tabernacle  of  Moses,  which 
he  appears  to  have  confused  with  the  huts  at  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  the  roofing  of  which  must  not 
keep  out  either  light  or  wet.  This  roof  was  sup- 
ported on  palm  trunks,  against  one  of  which  the 
Prophet  used  to  lean  when  preaching,  till  the  Minbar 
or  pulpit  was  introduced.  The  barn  faced  north, 
with  doors  on  the  south-east  and  west  sides;  for  the 
first  of  these  a  northerly  door  was  substituted  when 
the  direction  of  prayer  was  changed.  Flooring  of 
pebbles  seems  to  have  been  gradually  introduced  by 
worshippers  who  were  inconvenienced  by  the  puddles 
which  were  the  consequence  of  rainy  days.  An 
eastern  door  was  a  private  entrance  for  the  Prophet, 
who  proceeded  to  provide  quarters  for  himself  and 
his  wives  on  that  side  of  the  mosque. 

The  first  of  these  was  for  his  wife  Sauda,  and  his 
bride  Ayeshah  whom  Mohammed  married  shortly 
after  his  arrival :  ere  his  death  the  number  had  in- 
creased to  nine.  An  authority  tells  us  that  these 
too  were  not  new  erections,  but  huts  belonging  to  a 
certain  Harithah,  son  of  Al-Nu'man,*  who  retired 
from  each  as  soon  as  the  Prophet  required  it.  Four 
of  them  were  of  mud-bricks,  with  inner  chambers  of 
lath  and  clay ;  five  were  of  lath  and  clay  without 
inner  chambers.     A   curtain   of   sacking   served   in 

*  Samhudi,  126  (after  Jbn  Sa'd/f.,  ii.,  52). 


222  Mohammed 

most  cases  for  a  door.  They  surrounded  the 
mosque  on  three  sides,  only  the  west  being  clear  of 
them. 

Round  this  pile  of  buildings  many  of  the  institu- 
tions of  Islam  centre.  In  the  absence  of  clocks  the 
worshippers  assembled  for  prayer  at  very  different 
times ;  and  thereby  much  confusion  was  occasioned. 
An  early  and  faithful  follower  of  Mohammed  named 
Bilal  had  a  loud  voice  ;  he  was  employed  to  summon 
the  worshippers  from  some  eminence,  such  as  the 
roof  of  the  barn.  At  some  time  in  the  early  months 
of  the  Prophet's  residence  at  Medinah  this  practice 
became  regular,  and  was  regarded  as  an  institution 
of  Islam.  Those  who  heard  the  call  were  ordered  to 
come  to  the  meeting  on  pain  of  having  their  houses 
burned  down,  no  excuse  being  permitted.*  Bilai's 
voice  saved  his  master  from  the  necessity  of  imitating 
the  Christian  hammer  and  the  Jewish  trumpet.  The 
former  institution  he  had  been  near  adopting ;  one 
Abdallah,  son  of  Zaid,  claimed  to  have  had  the  "  Call 
to  Prayer  "  revealed  to.  him  in  a  dream,  which  he 
communicated  to  the  Prophet,f  while  according  to 
another  account  the  suggestion  came  from  Omar. 
Minarets,  now  so  familiar  a  feature  of  Mohammedan 
towns,  were  not  added  till  long  after  Mohammed's 
death.;):  With  this  substitute  for  a  church  bell  re- 
ligious worship  began  to  assume  a  regular  and 
stereotyped  form  ;  the  details  were  supposed  to  have 
been  communicated  to  Mohammed  during  his  ascent 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  423. 

\  Ibid.,  iv.,  43. 

\  Kamil  of  Mubarrad,  ii.,  66. 


The  Migration  223 

into  heaven,  this  being  the  Moslem  analogue  of  the 
Jewish  phrase  "a  rule  delivered  to  Moses  on  Sinai." 
For  clearly  the  rules  of  prayer  must  have  been  com- 
municated to  Mohammed  at  some  time;  and  when 
they  were  not  to  be  found  in  Koranic  revelations, 
the  ascent  into  heaven  was  the  most  likely  occasion 
for  their  delivery. 

The  barn  had  to  be  enlarged  during  the  Prophet's 
lifetime  and  in  course  of  time  it  was  replaced 
by  more  magnificent  buildings.  Other  mosques 
were  erected  before  the  Prophet's  death,  and  when  a 
rival  faction  was  started  it  commenced  its  short 
career  with  the  building  of  a  mosque.  Till  the 
Prophet's  death  however  the  barn  served  not  only  as 
the  sanctuary  of  Islam  but  also  as  the  town-hall  and 
audience  chamber  of  Medinah.  It  was  here  that 
each  fresh  revelation  was  delivered.  In  the  shabby 
accommodation  of  the  first  mosque  we  may  notice  a 
great  instance  of  Mohammed's  caution  and  economy. 
Any  dirhem  that  was  wasted  on  building  would  be 
taken  out  of  the  mouths  of  hungry  Refugees :  for 
Mohammed  knew  men  well  enough  to  calculate  with 
precision  the  time  by  which  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Helpers  would  cool.  A  story  that  may  be  true 
makes  the  owner  of  the  barn  offer  it  to  Mohammed 
gratis,  and  Mohammed  insist  on  paying  for  it. 
Whether  this  be  historical  or  not,  he  certainly  ab- 
stained at  this  time  from  demanding  any  needless 
contributions.  If  the  prayer  houses  of  Jews  and 
Christians  were  richly  decorated,  he  could  urge  that 
Gabriel  had  forbidden  the  decoration  of  that  of  the 
Moslems.     And  indeed  he  held  that  the  outlay  of 


224  Mohammed 

money  in  building  was  the  worst  that  a  Moslem 
could  make. 

While  the  mosque  was  being  adapted  for  worship 
and  the  huts  being  erected  for  Mohammed's  families, 
he  was  doubtless  being  waited  on  by  all  the  heads 
of  households  in  Medinah,  and  exercising  his  sharp 
vision  upon  them.  His  strong  constitution  appears 
to  have  kept  him  free  from  the  Medinah  fever  which 
for  a  time  struck  down  some  of  his  most  stalwart 
followers,  Abu  Bakr,  his  freedman  'Amir,  and 
Bilal.  His  mode  of  dealing  with  men  was  ordinarily 
so  fascinating  and  winning  that  those  visitors  who 
were  already  converted  to  Islam  were  doubtless 
not  disappointed.  The  Prophet  had  many  ways  of 
making  those  visits  agreeable.  He  could  change  the 
names  of  visitors  who  had  been  called  after  pagan 
objects  of  adoration,  or  substitute  names  of  good 
omen  for  such  as  were  inauspicious. 

Among  his  visitors,  or  at  any  rate  among  those  who 
made  his  acquaintance  were  representatives  of  two 
parties  of  whom  much  will  be  heard,  Jews  and  Hyp- 
ocrites. The  latter,  or  disaffected  Medinese,  are  com- 
plimented by  the  Prophet  on  their  fine  appearance 
and  melodious  voices,  but  presently  he  had  occasion 
to  compare  them  to  a  row  of  sticks  *;  men  so  cowardly 
and  irresolute  were  by  no  means  to  his  taste.  The 
Hypocrites  on  the  other  hand  gave  the  newcomers 
the  sobriquet,  the  "Surtouts "  f  meaning  perhaps 
that  Medinah  was  over  full  of  them.     A  tradition;): 


*  Surah  lxii.,  4. 

\  Tabari,  Comm.,  xxviii.,  68. 

\  Samhudiy  8. 


The  Migration  225 

makes  the  Prophet  request  to  be  taken  in  at  the 
house  or  castle  of  Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy,  who  un- 
courteously  told  him  to  go  to  the  people  who  had 
sent  for  him.  Mohammed  was  not  the  man  to  bring 
such  an  affront  upon  himself.  A  better  authen- 
ticated tradition*  makes  the  Prophet  visit  Abdallah, 
who  complained  of  the  odour  of  the  beast  which  the 
Prophet  was  riding ;  this  observation  led  to  an  alter- 
cation between  their  respective  followers,  which  the 
Prophet  succeeded  in  appeasing.  These  Hypocrites, 
as  they  are  called  by  an  Abyssinian  name  in  the 
Koran,  otherwise  "  those  in  whose  hearts  is  sickness," 
were  destined  for  long  to  be  a  thorn  in  the  Prophet's 
side.  Professedly  acknowledging  his  mission  and 
consequent  authority,  they  were  ever  thwarting  his 
plans,  intriguing  with  his  foes,  and  calling  attention 
to  the  inconsistency  of  his  Koran.  To  Mohammed 
however  the  world  consisted  of  only  two  classes, 
those  who  acknowledged  his  mission  and  those  who 
rejected  it ;  and  though  he  gave  vent  to  his  feelings 
on  the  subject  of  the  Hypocrites  in  the  Koran,  he 
was  confident  that  the  illogicality  of  their  position 
must  of  itself  lead  them  to  become  either  open  foes 
or  loyal  friends.  He  therefore  put  up  with  many  an 
affront  from  them,  and  lived  to  see  their  leader  left 
without  supporters. 

The  "  Hypocrites  M  had  probably  no  preconceived 
notion  of  what  a  prophet  should  be  like.  But  the 
Jews  had,  and  it  is  certain  that  Mohammed  wished  to 
conciliate  the  Jews  as  far  as  was  possible  ;  one  of  the 
problems  which  he  had   to   face  was  whether  he 

*  Bokhari,  ii.,  165. 
«5 


226  Mohammed 

should  or  should  not  identify  his  system  with  Juda- 
ism :  and  it  seems  likely  that  he  was  inclined  to  do 
this.  Arriving  at  Kuba  on  their  Day  of  Atone- 
ment, he  adopted  it  as  a  fast  day,  and  even  sent  or- 
ders to  the  tribe  Aslam,  when  it  was  converted,  to 
keep  it  *  (what  the  Jews  can  have  thought  of  this 
not  knowing  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  we  can  con- 
jecture) ;  and  the  task  of  determining  the  day  on 
which  it  should  be  kept  was  confided  to  a  Jew.  f 
Picking  up  the  piece  of  information  that  the  Jews 
expected  prophets  to  come  from  Syria,  he  even 
started  on  a  journey  thither,  but  saw  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  executing  this,  and  so  desisted.  \  When 
a  Jewish  funeral  passed,  the  Prophet  and  his  follow- 
ers stood  up  till  it  was  out  of  sight.  §  A  Jew,  says 
Anas  Ibn  Malik  (the  Prophet's  servant),  invited  him 
to  a  meal  of  barley-bread  and  rancid  fat,  and  he 
accepted  the  offer.  ||  Pedantry  prevented  the  Jews 
from  seeing  that  the  sign  of  a  true  prophet — or  at 
least  the  best  substitute  for  one — was  the  possession 
of  a  will  and  intellect  capable  of  introducing  order 
and  tranquillity  at  Yathrib.  Had  the  Jews  been 
prepared  to  give  him  the  title  Prophet,  they  might 
have  had  him  for  their  disciple.  If  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  .trustworthy,  even  prophets  who 
could  produce  the  most  authentic  credentials  had 
little  chance  with  the  Jews :  hence  Mohammed, 
who  had  none  that  the  Jews  would  recognise,  had 

* Isabah,  iii.,  1259. 

f  Tabarani  ap.  Mahmoud  Effendi,  Le  Calendrier  Arabe%  p.  25. 

\  Baidawi  on  Surah  xvii.,  76. 

%Musnad,  iii.,  295,  etc. 

H  Ibid.,  211. 


The  Migration  227 

no  chance  with  them.  The  Rabbis  probably  ex- 
pected that  a  prophet  should  be  able  to  speak 
Hebrew,  and  finding  him  unable  to  do  that,  some 
vented  their  opinions  of  his  prophetic  cla  m  some- 
what freely.  Others  addressed  him  questions  of  no 
great  difficulty  (e.  gt  what  were  the  nine  signs  given 
to  Moses?),  and  finding  his  answers  hopelessly 
wrong,  courteously  expressed  themselves  satisfied, 
but  excused  themselves  from  acknowledging  him  on 
the  ground  that  their  Messiah  must  be  of  the  seed 
of  David.  *  In  the  assemblies  at  which  the  Call  was 
discussed  he  had  to  put  up  with  serious  personal 
affronts  from  them,  and  such  meetings  were  apt  to 
lead  to  rioting  and  violence,  f 

The  biographer  Ibn  Ishak  produces  a  contract, 
made  shortly  after  his  arrival,  in  which  the  modus 
vivendi  at  Medinah  is  laid  down.  Wellhausen,  who 
has  acutely  analysed  its  contents,  throws  no  doubt 
on  its  being  the  work  of  the  Prophet,  but  finds  some 
difficulty  in  its  never  being  cited  during  the  many 
disputes  that  arose  between  Mohammed  and  the 
Jews,  and  also  in  the  fact  that  there  is  no  record  of 
any  formalities  attending  its  introduction  such  as 
might  have  been  executed.  One  placed  in  Moham- 
med's position  would  not,  however,  have  entered  into 
a  treaty ;  it  is  even  somewhat  surprising  that  he 
should  have  given  a  rescript,  except  in  the  form  of 
a  divine  revelation.  But  the  Prophet  displayed  so 
much  caution  that  he  was  perhaps  unwilling  to  put 
into  the  mouth  of  God  concessions  the  withdrawal 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  240. 
\Bokhari,  iv.,  4. 


228  Mohammed 

of  which  he  may  have  contemplated  from  the  first. 
The  purpose  of  the  document  is  to  arrange  for  the 
relations  of  the  different  communities  inhabiting 
Medinah.  Blood-money  and  ransoms  were  to  be  in- 
cumbent on  the  respective  tribes  as  before,  but  Mos- 
lems of  all  tribes  are  recommended  to  help  in  such 
cases,  in  order  to  prevent  any  of  their  number  being 
too  heavily  embarrassed.  Protection  is  promised  to 
the  Jews  so  long  as  they  give  no  cause  for  offence. 
In  the  case  of  general  warfare  each  tribe  is  to  pay 
its  own  expenses.  Only  the  people  of  Meccah  are 
excluded  from  the  possibility  of  friendly  relations. 

It  is  not  certain  whether  the  contract  was  made 
at  this  time  or  somewhat  later.  In  any  case  the 
position  of  the  Jews  was  one  of  some  difficulty.  It 
was  not  forgotten  that  the  sources  of  information 
about  prophets,  revelations,  angels,  etc.,  to  both 
Meccans  and  Medinese  were  Jews,  and  that  Mo- 
hammed had  relied  on  Jewish  witnesses.  The  Jews 
of  Medinah,  then,  by  the  mere  fact  that  they  were 
not  with  Mohammed,  were  against  him.  For  if  they 
did  not  welcome  the  Messiah,  either  they  or  the 
Messiah  must  deserve  reprehension.  Moreover,  the 
envy  of  many  of  them  was  doubtless  aroused  by 
the  reflection  that  Mohammed's  power  had  been 
won  by  his  use  of  their  Bible ;  of  which  he  had  not 
a  beginner's  knowledge  as  compared  with  them. 
Their  efforts  lay  therefore  in  the  direction  of  dis- 
crediting him  before  his  followers  from  Meccah  and 
Medinah. 

A  Jew  of  the  tribe  Kuraizah  is  said  to  have 
taken  the  trouble  to  translate  a  portion  of  the  Old 


The  Migration  229 

Testament  into  Arabic,  in  the  hope  of  ruining  the 
Prophet's  reputation.  He  brought  his  version  to 
Omar,  perhaps  expecting  that  this  formidable  per- 
sonage's eyes  might  be  opened  thereby.  But  Omar 
would  not  read  the  book  without  asking  the  Pro- 
phet's permission,  which  naturally  was  not  granted.* 
"  If  Moses  himself  were  to  come  to  life,"  he  added, 
"you  would  have  no  right  to  follow  him  and  aban- 
don me."f  Others  tried  the  plan  of  joining  the 
Moslems  for  a  time,  and  then  returning,  alleging 
that  they  had  found  some  reason  for  dissatisfaction : 
hoping  thereby  to  make  it  easier  for  others  to  retire. 
A  few  of  the  Jews,  as  might  be  expected,  perma- 
nently joined  the  newcomers.  Abdallah,  son  of 
Salam,  of  the  tribe  Kainuka,  was  the  most  cele- 
brated :  he  is  said  to  have  advised  Mohammed  to 
ask  for  his  character  from  his  brethren  before  they 
knew  of  his  apostacy  ;  and  having  given  him  a  glow- 
ing testimonial,  they  were  greatly  embarrassed  when 
they  learnt  what  had  happened.  Mohammed,  en- 
chanted with  this  accession,  told  him  he  was  already 
in  Paradise — a  compliment  which  he  bestowed  on  no 
other  person.  J  His  two  nephews  followed  his  ex- 
ample, and  four  other  Jews,  Asad  §  and  Usaid,  sons 
of  Ka'b,  Tha'labah,  son  of  Kais,  and  Yasin,  1  son  of 
Yamin,  made  up  the  seven  converts  to  Islam  from 
the  Jewish  community.!"     More  than  one  of  these 

*Isabah,  ii.,  699  ;  Musttad,  iii.,  387. 
f  Musnad,  iv. ,  266. 
\Isabah,  i.,  169. 
§  The  name  means  Lion  (Lttwe). 
I  Perhaps  a  Benjamin  who  took  the  name  Yasin. 
Tf  Isabah,  ii.,  231. 


230  Mohammed 

appropriated  to  himself  the  text  of  the  Koran  in 
which  the  testimony  of  a  member  of  the  Children  of 
Israel  is  cited.*  Probably  all  did  not  join  at  once. 
The  Jews  are  said  to  have  submitted  a  case  of  adul- 
tery to  him  for  judgment,  and  to  have  expressed  ex- 
treme dissatisfaction  when  he  ordered  the  culprits 
to  be  stoned.  Mohammed  declared  his  ruling  to  be 
in  accordance  with  the  Law  of  Moses — as,  indeed,  it 
appears  to  be ;  but  when  the  Law  was  produced,  the 
passage  could  not  be  found,  which  Mohammed  sup- 
posed to  be  due  to  fraud.  In  another  f  case  he  or- 
dered a  Jew  to  be  stoned  for  having  robbed  and 
murdered  a  believing  slave  girl.  Nine  months;): 
after  his  arrival  a  serious  misfortune  befell  him  in 
the  death  of  the  Jew-hater  §  As'ad,  son  of  Zurarah, 
who  had  done  so  much  to  promote  the  Flight.  The 
Prophet  tried  to  heal  him  by  cauterisation,  but 
thereby  either  accelerated  or,  at  least,  did  not  pre- 
vent his  death.  The  Jews  naturally  jeered.  ||  Their 
prophets  had  tried  less  painful  remedies,  and  suc- 
ceeded. A  yet  worse  misfortune  befell  the  Prophet 
when  from  ignorance  of  palmiculture  he  forbade  the 
fertilisation  of  the  female  palms :  when  a  plantation 
became  sterile  in  consequence  he  had  to  confess  to 
having  spoken  without  book.  T 

Disputes,  leading  to  violence,  broke  out  between 
the   Jews    and     Mohammed's     fanatical    followers. 

*  IsabaA,  iii.,  968. 
f  Musnad,  iii.,  163. 
\  Ibn  ScCd  II.,  ii.  141. 
§  Wakidi{W.),  414. 
I  Tabari,  i.,  1260. 
*§  Musnad,  iv.,  138  ;  Ibn  Sa'd  II.  r  ii.,  140. 


The  Migration  231 

Even  the  traditions  show  that  in  these  disputes  the 
Jews  scored  in  argument.  Abu  Bakr  came  to  beg 
money  of  them,  quoting  the  words  of  the  Koran : 
"  Who  will  lend  God  a  good  loan  ?  "  "  If  God  wants 
a  loan,"  replied  Pinchas,  son  of  Azariah,  "  He  must 
be  in  distressed  circumstances  "  ; — forgetting  that  in 
the  Old  Testament  men  are  advised  to  "  lend  unto 
the  Lord."  The  repartee  was  answered  by  a  blow; 
instead  of  returning  it  the  Jew  went  to  whine  before 
Mohammed  and  (apparently)  denied  having  said 
anything.  The  Angel  Gabriel  came  to  Abu  Bakr's 
rescue,  *  confirming  his  account  of  the  atrocity — and, 
indeed,  Abu  Bakr  was  not  likely  to  have  invented  it 
himself — and  raking  up  the  old  charge  against  the 
Jews  of  killing  the  prophets.  The  same  charge 
served  as  an  answer  to  those  pious  Israelites  who, 
looking  over  their  sacred  books,  discovered  how  in 
Elijah's  time  it  had  been  generally  agreed  that  a 
prophet  could  prove  himself  one  by  offering  a  sacri- 
fice, which  heavenly  fire  would  devour.  "  If  that  be 
so,"  Mohammed  was  divinely  authorised  to  reply, 
"  why  did  you  kill  the  prophets  ?  " 

It  is  asserted  that  the  Jews  attempted  to  deal 
with  Mohammed  by  those  magic  processes  in  which 
they  were  supposed  to  be  adepts.  A  page-boy  had 
access  to  the  hair  on  his  comb,  and  the  possession  of 
this  would  give  the  sorcerer  command  over  the  per- 
son to  whom  it  belonged.  The  waxen  image,  the 
knots,  and  the  needles  were  all  tried.  Labid,  son  of 
Al-A'sam  is  given  as  the  name  of  the  sorcerer  who 
undertook,  for  a  small  remuneration,  to  bewitch  the 

*  Surah,  in.,  177. 


232  Mohammed 

Prophet.  It  is  possible  that  this  expedient  was  not 
tried  till  after  the  latter  had,  by  his  actions,  mani- 
fested his  intention  to  exterminate  the  Jewish  com- 
munity ;  but  even  shortly  after  his  arrival  the  Jews 
boasted  that  by  their  magic  they  had  produced 
barrenness  among  the  Moslem  women  * ;  and  with 
plausibility,  if  it  be  true  that  the  first  child  born  to 
the  Moslems  of  Medinah  appeared  fourteen  months 
after  the  Prophet's  arrival.f  A  few  months  were 
sufficient  to  produce  mutual  contempt  and  dislike. 
Jewish  schoolboys  could  refute  the  pretensions  of 
the  Koran ;  Jewish  chieftains  might  with  impunity 
be  cuffed  by  the  followers  of  Mohammed.  The 
Jews,  too,  professed  disgust  at  a  prophet  whose 
chief  concern  was  his  harem — though  their  studies 
in  the  Old  Testament  should  have  shown  them  that 
this  was  not  incongruous.  Mohammed  got  an  idea 
that  the  Jews  were  always  plotting  to  murder  him, 
and,  in  a  saying  that  is  probably  genuine,  declared 
that  whenever  a  Moslem  sat  with  a  Jew,  the  latter 
was  thinking  how  he  could  kill  the  former  J;  while 
the  Jews,  with  more  obvious  justice,  asserted  the  con- 
verse.§  In  tales  that  were  afterwards  invented  early 
harbingers  of  Islam  warn  the  Prophet's  grandfather 
or  the  youthful  Prophet  himself  against  the  hostility 
of  the  Jews.  There  were  indeed  many  causes  for 
collision  as  we  have  seen  ;  and  want  of  cleanliness  in 
the   Jewish  habitations   further  offended   the   Pro- 


*  Tabari,  i.,  1264,  3. 
f  Isabah,  iii.,  1151. 
\  Jahiz,  Bayan,  i.,  165. 
§  Talm.  Bab.  Erubin. 


The  Migration  233 

phet,*  who,  in  those  matters,  was  somewhat  fastidi- 
ous. Yet,  doubtless,  the  Prophet's  ultimate  deter- 
mination to  destroy  the  Jews  was  due  to  his  secret 
recognition  of  their  superior  knowledge  of  matters 
on  which  he  claimed  authority.  That  knowledge 
was  dangerous  to  him  but  useless  to  the  Jews.  The 
Jewish  learning  was  sufficient  to  irritate,  but  not  of 
a  sort  which  gave  its  holders  any  power  of  self- 
defence  ;  for  to  their  sorceries  it  is  improbable  that 
the  more  respectable  members  of  the  community 
attached  any  importance  save  under  the  influence 
of  despair.  Failing  in  courage,  they  might,  by  well 
directed  study,  have  rendered  themselves  more  than 
a  match  for  a  man  who  did  not  even  know  that  the 
year  was  determined  by  the  relations  between  the 
earth  and  the  sun.  But  the  study  of  their  Talmud 
was  valueless  for  any  practical  purpose. 

One  other  visitor  deserves  mention,  the  "  Christian," 
Abu  'Amir — an  influential  Medinese  chieftain  who 
is  said  to  have  discarded  paganism  before  Moham- 
med's missionaries  came.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  Mohammed  would  find  favour  with  such  a  man 
and  the  interview  was  stormy.  He  himself,  with  his 
following,  left  Medinah,  and  made  many  an  abortive 
attempt  to  injure  Mohammed.  Perhaps  it  occurred 
to  him  that,  if  what  Yathrib  wanted  was  a  teacher 
of  monotheism,  he  could  and  should  have  filled  the 
post. 


*  Ibn  DuraiJ,  315. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   BATTLE   OF   BADR 

A  FEW  months  at  Medinah  found  the  Prophet 
at  the  end  of  his  resources.  Fresh  arrivals  from 
Meccah,  such  as  Mikdad,  son  of  'Amr,  who 
has  already  been  mentioned,  found  none  of  the  Help- 
ers ready  to  receive  them.*  Many  of  the  Refugees 
had  no  shelter  but  the  Mosque,  had  not  sufficient 
clothing  for  decency,  and  went  almost  without  food. 
Mohammed  had  to  teach  that  what  was  enough  for 
two  was  enough  for  three  or  even  for  four.f  One  date 
per  day,  eked  out  with  some  of  the  herbs  on  which 
camels  browse,  counted  as  a  man's  rations,  \  and  one 
garment  had  to  serve  for  two  wearers.  How  parsi- 
monious the  Prophet  was  compelled  to  be  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  when,  seven  months  after  his  arrival, 
he  married  Ayeshah,  there  was  no  wedding  feast. 
Since  her  father,  the  faithful  Abu  Bakr,  provided 
the  bridegroom  with  the  indispensable  gift  to  the 
bride,  perhaps  this  ill-assorted  union  (for  as  such  we 
must  characterise  the  marriage  of  a  man  of  fifty-three 
to  a  child  of  nine,  dragged  from  her  swing  and  her 

*  Musnad,  vi.,  4. 
f  Muslim,  ii.,  148. 
\  Ibid.,  no. 

234 


The  Battle  of  Badr  235 

toys)  was  accelerated  by  the  desire  to  obtain  some 
ready  money. 

•  It  had  originally  been  arranged  that  the  Refugees 
should  assist  the  Helpers  in  their  field-work*;  but 
knowing  nothing  of  palmiculture,  f  they  could  only 
perform  the  most  menial  services;  thus  some  %  liter- 
ally hewed  wood  and  drew  water;  some§  were 
employed  in  watering  palms,  carrying  skins  on  their 
backs ;  and  AH  at  least  on  one  occasion  earned 
sixteen  dates  by  filling  buckets  with  water,  and 
emptying  them  over  mould  for  brick-making  at  the 
rate  of  a  date  a  bucket ;  which  hardly  earned  meal 
he  shared  with  the  Prophet.  ||  The  Refugees  found 
rather  more  prospect  of  earning  money  by  retail 
trading ;  thus  Abu  Bakr  sold  clothes  in  the  marketer ; 
Othman,  son  of  'Affan,**  became  a  fruiterer,  buying 
dates  of  the  Banu  Kainuka,  and  selling  them  at  a 
higher  price  ;  Abd  al- Rahman,  son  of  'Auf,  set  up  as 
a  milkman  ff ;  Omar  too  spent  much  of  his  time  bar- 
gaining in  the  market  \%  ;  and  others  §§  got  the  name 
of  "  the  hucksters,"  altered  by  Mohammed  to  "  the 
Merchants."  The  date-growing  industry  had  how- 
ever been  severely  hit  by  the  Prophet's  orders  for- 
bidding artificial  fertilisation,  and  prohibiting  loans 

*  Bokhari,  ii.,  174. 

f  Tabari,  Comm.,  xxviii.,  27. 

\  Mustiad,  iii.,  137. 

%/bid ,  i.,  8. 

||  Ibid.,  135  ;  Tiraz  aUMajalis,  157. 

^  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  130. 

**  Afusnad,  i.,  62. 

\\Ibn  Sa'd //.,  ii.,  77. 

XX  Afusnad,  iv.,  400. 

%%/bid.,6t  7. 


236  Mohammed 

on  the  security  of  the  prospective  produce.  The 
mischief  caused  by  the  former  of  these  measures 
seems  sufficient  to  account  for  much  in  the  sequel. 
It  produced  artificial  scarcity  at  a  time  when  plenty 
was  specially  required.  One  or  two  of  the  Refugees 
appear  to  have  attempted  to  carry  on  foreign  trade 
in  the  style  of  Meccah,  and  we  shall  presently  meet 
Ali  starting,  though  unsuccessfully,  in  business  of 
this  sort.  Omar  too  appears  to  have  had  trade  con- 
nections with  Persia.* 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Prophet  shared  to 
the  full  the  misery  of  his  followers :  and  indeed,  as 
he  refused  to  employ  the  Alms  for  his  private  needs, 
he  had  no  source  of  revenue.  Like  some  other  great 
rulers,  he  connected  taxation  with  unpopularity ; 
and  the  notion  which  is  familiar  from  the  Gospel, 
that  independent  citizens  do  not  pay  taxes,  was  cer- 
tainly current  in  Medinah.  Hence,  when  casual  and 
private  generosity  failed,  he  was  content  to  starve. 
Charitable  persons  used  to  invite  the  Prophet,  see- 
ing his  face  pinched  with  hunger,  f  Months  used  to 
pass,  said  Ayeshah,  without  any  fire  being  lighted 
in  their  dwelling,  their  food*  being  dates  and 
water.J  His  daughter  Fatimah  was  stinted,  and 
after  her  marriage  the  little  recorded  of  her  con- 
sists mainly  of  complaints  about  the  misery  of 
her  lot.§  When  presents  of  food  were  sent  to  the 
Prophet,  he  would  share  it  with  the  "  people  of  the 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  347. 
f  Tirmidhi,  i.,  203. 
\  Musnad,  vi.,  71. 
§E.gM  Musnad,  v.,  26, 


The  Battle  of  Badr  237 

Shed,"  the  homeless  Moslems  who  were  compelled 
to  seek  refuge  in  the  Mosque, — where  in  the  course 
of  time  a  sort  of  hospital  was  started  by  a  woman 
called  Ku'aibah,  daughter  of  'Utbah.*  Miracles  by 
which  multitudes  were  fed  or  a  small  quantity  of 
provisions  was  made  to  last  indefinitely  were  indeed 
ascribed  to  him  by  the  fancy  of  later  generations: 
but  it  is  evident  that,  welcome  as  these  powers 
would  have  been,  he  neither  possessed  them  nor  let 
it  be  supposed  that  he  did.  Oppressed  with  this 
grinding  poverty,  starved,  naked,  and  frozen,  the  True 
Believers  naturally  felt  some  resentment  against  the 
Jews,  from  whom  nothing  was  to  be  had  without 
security,  who  were  merciless  about  the  recovery  of 
debts,  f  and  who  were  enjoying  opulence  (as  it 
seemed)  as  the  result  of  their  skill  in  industries  of 
various  sorts,  of  their  thrift  and  their  business 
capacity.  Bitter  reproaches  on  their  meanness  were 
consequently  heard  from  the  Prophet's  mouth  and  in- 
deed produced  in  revelations.  Nor  did  a  request  for  a 
loan  of  raiment  addressed  to  "  Halik,  the  Christian  " 
meet  with  a  more  favourable  response.  %  Among 
the  people  of  Medinah  some  pious  women,  §  as 
might  be  expected,  placed  large  portions  of  their 
possessions  at  the  Prophet's  disposal.  Some  of 
these  undertook  to  provide  for  a  fixed  number  of 
individuals,  but  it  became  evident  that  some  new 
source  of  revenue  must  be  discovered. 


*  Wakidi  (IV.),  215. 
fCf.  Musnad,  ill. »  423. 
J  Musnad,  iii.,  244. 
%  Muslim,  ii.,  379. 


238  Mohammed 

One  mode  of  acquiring  a  living  is  open  to  the 
very  poorest,  when  there  is  impunity ;  and  that  is 
robbery.  We  do  not  know  whether  the  Prophet 
when  he  fled  to  Medinah  foresaw  that  he  would 
assume  the  character  of  robber-chief ;  but  his  at- 
taching to  himself  the  robbers  of  the  tribe  Aslam, 
and  the  provision  in  the  contract  which  has  been 
quoted,  excluding  the  Meccans  from  all  friendly 
relations,  make  it  likely  that  even  then  he  expected 
to  have  to  fall  back  on  plundering  their  caravans. 
Having  been  with  these  caravans  himself  so  often,  he 
had  the  most  special  knowledge  of  the  best  mode  of 
attacking  them.  The  idea  however  of  utilising  the 
position  of  Medinah  for  attacking  the  caravans  is  said 
to  have  first  occurred  to  one  of  the  converts  of  Medi- 
nah, who  visited  the  Ka'bah  shortly  after  the  Flight.* 
Mohammed's  experience  had  moreover  taught  him 
to  regard  the  fighting  powers  of  the  Meccans  as  of 
poor  quality.  The  view  that  the  Kuraish  were 
cowards  \  was  held  by  many  in  Arabia — not  without 
justice,  as  the  sequel  will  show, — and  the  manner  in 
which  they  had  dealt  with  Mohammed  must  have 
enforced  this  fact  on  his  mind.J  Their  treatment  of 
himself  had  displayed  a  degree  of  cowardice  and  im- 
becility which  could  not  fail  to  be  rightly  gauged  by  a 
man  who  could  estimate  his  fellows  with  precision 
after  a  single  interview.  But  besides  this  like  many 
exiles  he  had  a  passionate  desire  to  wipe  out  the 

*  Musnad,  i. ,  400. 

\Jahiz,  Opuscuta,  61. 

%  He  is  credited  with  the  assertion,  "  the  strength  of  a  Kurashite 
is  equal  to  that  of  two  men  "  ;  but  its  import  is  doubtful.  Musnad% 
iv.,  83. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  239 

insult  to  which  he  had  been  subjected,  in  being 
forced  to  quit  his  native  town.  The  people  who 
had  driven  him  out  were  those  on  whom  he  wished 
to  force  his  authority ;  whom  he  wished  to  see 
repenting  in  dust  and  ashes  of  their  insolence.  If 
the  Kuraish  had  been  afraid  to  shed  his  blood,  he 
was  not  afraid  to  shed  theirs.  A  fresh  relationship 
had  been  substituted  for  tribal  kinship.  When  he 
first  announced  his  new  policy,  some  of  the  more 
earnest  of  his  followers  were  shocked  at  the  idea  of 
fighting,  remembering  how  at  Meccah  they  had 
been  told  to  return  good  for  evil  *  ;  but  their  scruples 
were  silenced  by  a  revelation  ;  and  other  revelations 
were  required  to  comfort  those  Refugees  who  act- 
ually missed  the  society  of  their  unbelieving  friends.f 
About  the  time  of  Ayeshah's  wedding  the  first  of 
these  expeditions  took  place  ;  and  though  they  were 
repeated  continually,  some  months  passed  before 
they  led  to  any  brilliant  result.  According  to  the 
contract  only  Refugees  took  part  in  them :  and  they 
did  not  at  first  possess  the  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  region  which  is  indispensable  to  a  brigand. 
Either  they  arrived  on  the  scene  too  late,  or  some- 
thing occurred  to  render  their  efforts  unsuccess- 
ful. These  attempts,  however,  taught  the  Prophet 
something  about  the  capacity  of  his  followers, 
and  brought  him  into  relations  with  the  surround- 
ing tribes.  And  even  the  failures  impressed  on  the 
Refugees  the  necessity  of  earning  their  living  by  the 
sword. 


*  Wahidi,  24. 

\  Talari,  fetr/*-,  »«i    4ft. 


240  Mohammed 

The  first  commanders  employed  by  the  Prophet 
were  his  uncle  Hamzah,  and  his  cousin  'Ubaidah, 
son  of  Harith.  Hamzah  was  sent  to  waylay  a  cara- 
van returning  in  the  spring  from  Syria.  The  spot 
chosen  was  in  the  territory  of  the  tribe  Juhainah, 
where  the  road  into  the  interior  of  Arabia  passes 
near  the  sea,  and  is  crossed  by  a  wady  called  Ts. 
The  Meccans,  as  peaceful  merchants,  had  secured 
the  protection  of  the  tribes  through  whose  lands 
their  caravans  passed,  and  the  head  of  the  Juhainah, 
Majdi,  son  of  'Amr,  discharged  his  duty  manfully  in 
seeing  that  the  caravan  was  not  attacked  in  his  land. 
On  the  only  other  occasion  when  he  figures  in 
history  *  he  is  performing  a  similar  duty\  Hamzah 
with  his  thirty  men  could  not  deal  with  both  Kuraish 
and  Juhainah,  and  went  home. 

A  few  weeks  later,  'Ubaidah,  son  of  Harith,  was 
sent  with  a  larger  party  to  waylay  a  caravan  at 
Rabigh,  also  near  the  seashore,  midway  between 
Medinah  and  Mecca.  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu  Wakkas, 
one  of  the  party,  shot  an  arrow ;  but  the  leader 
appears  to  have  been  wanting  in  courage,  and  the 
Meccans  were  not  at  present  disposed  to  fight  their 
former  brethren,  whose  attempts  they  probably 
ridiculed. 

To  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu  Wakkas,  not  unnaturally  the 
next  expedition  was  entrusted  (May,  623).  He  was 
to  catch  a  caravan  at  a  place  called  Kharrar,  near 
where  the  pilgrim  roads  from  Syria  and  Egypt 
meet,  five  days  from  Medinah.  He  arrived  a  day 
too  late. 


*Aght  iv.,  22. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  24 1 

During  the  sacred  months  nothing  was  attempted ; 
but  near  the  middle  of  the  following  August  (Safar) 
Mohammed  made  another  endeavour,  heading  the 
expedition  himself.  This  was  to  a  place  called  Wad- 
dan,  an  emporium  in  the  days  of  Ezekiel,  but  at  this 
time  of  no  account.  The  caravan  escaped  him,  but 
he  made  some  sort  of  covenant  with  the  head  of  the 
Banu  Damrah,  in  whose  territory  Waddan  then  lay. 

The  notice  of  this  event  is  so  meagre  that  we  have 
no  knowledge  of  the  process  by  which  Mohammed 
accomplished  this  small  success.  It  is  so  worded  as 
to  make  it  appear  that  the  Prophet  made  a  feint  of 
attacking  the  Banu  Damrah  themselves,  and  spared 
them  on  condition  of  their  entering  an  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance;  while  the  contract,  as  it  is 
quoted,*  gives  the  Prophet  the  extraordinary  right 
of  attacking  them,  if  he  chose,  in  order  to  force  them 
to  Islam.  This  clause  must  surely  be  a  dogmatic 
interpolation  to  mitigate  the  Prophet's  conduct  in 
making  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  idola- 
tors ;  for  why  (it  might  be  argued)  might  he  make 
such  an  alliance  with  the  Banu  Damrah,  and  yet  wage 
implacable  war  with  the  Kuraish?  But  this  argu- 
ment was  answered  by  a  special  revelation,  f  exclud- 
ing the  Meccans  (as  opposed  to  other  idolaters)  from 
friendly  relations.  The  Prophet's  course,  whether 
morally  defensible  or  not,  was  sound  politically ; 
experience  had  shown  him  that  in  order  to  attack 
the  caravans  with  safety  he  must  secure  the  co-op- 
eration of  the  tribes  in  whose  territory  he  proposed 

*  Halabi,  ii.,  166. 

f  Surah  lx.,  7,  8. 
z6 


242  Mohammed 

to  waylay  them.  If  it  be  true  that  the  caravan 
which  had  just  slipped  through  his  fingers  was  of 
twenty-five  hundred  camels,  the  arguments  by  which 
he  won  over  the  Banu  Damrah  can  easily  be  repro- 
duced in  thought. 

Fresh  attempts  were  made  by  him  in  September 
and  November,  both  in  the  direction  of  Yanbo,  and 
both  unsuccessful.  In  the  second  he  proceeded  with 
his  policy  of  making  terms  with  the  neighbouring 
tribes.  The  course  followed  in  this  expedition 
(called  the  "'Ushairah  raid")  is  chronicled  with 
great  accuracy,  and  was  long  marked  by  a  series  of 
sanctuaries.  This  was  due  to  the  length  of  the 
time,  nearly  a  month,  which  the  Prophet  waited  in  the 
hope  that  some  booty  might  come  in  his  way.  He 
had  returned  to  Medinah  but  a  short  time  when 
the  herds  of  Medinah  were  raided  by  a  more  ex- 
perienced robber,  and  an  expedition  of  which  the 
object  was  to  recover  the  booty  ended  in  another 
failure. 

Mohammed  had  failed  to  secure  success  by  meth- 
ods which  were  not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Arabs  of 
his  time,  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  a  prophet 
of  God.  During  the  raids  of  the  first  year  of  exile  he 
had  not  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  sacred  months,* 
and  the  peace  of  those  sacred  months  had  been  one 
of  the  institutions  which  redeemed  Arabia  from  a 
state  of  savagery :  for  some  weeks  in  the  year  men 
could  go  about  unarmed  and  yet  secure.  But  this 
security  offered  a  chance  to  any  one  who  was  en- 
lightened enough  to  have  no  scruples.     An  armed 

*  Wakidi  places  one  of  the  raids  in  Dhu'l-Kadah. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  243 

force  attacking  an  unarmed  caravan  in  the  sacred 
months  would  be  certain  to  bring  home  some  pris- 
oners and  booty.  Here,  then,  lay  a  prospect  of 
obtaining  what  was  becoming  more  and  more  neces- 
sary, success.  The  month  after  the  last  failure  was 
the  sacred  month  Rejeb,*  and  in  it  Mohammed  re- 
sorted to  this  expedient. 

The  historians  are  not  quite  agreed  about  the 
details,  but  everything  points  to  this  having  been 
Mohammed's  reasoning.  Let  us  first  hear  the  ac- 
count of  the  matter  ascribed  to  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu 
Wakkas.f 

"When  the  Apostle  of  God  came  to  Medinah,  the 
Juhainah  came  to  him  and  said  :  Thou  hast  settled 
amongst  us,  so  give  us  a  covenant  that  we  may  come  to 
thee,  and  make  thee  our  leader;  so  he  gave  them  a  cove- 
nant and  they  became  Moslems.  Then  the  Apostle  sent 
us  out  in  Rejeb,  we  being  less  than  one  hundred,  and 
bade  us  attack  a  branch  of  the  Kinanah  that  dwelt  near 
the  Juhainah.  So  we  did  so,  but  they  being  too  many 
for  us,  we  took  refuge  with  the  Juhainah,  who  protected 
us.  They  said  to  us,  Wherefore  fight  ye  in  the  sacred 
month  ?  And  we  said,  We  only  fight  in  the  sacred  month 
against  those  who  drove  us  out  of  our  country.  Then 
we  consulted  with  one  another;  some  said,  Let  us  go  to 
the  Prophet  of  God  and  tell  him:  others  said,  Let  us  stay 
here.  I,  with  some  others,  said,  Rather  let  us  attack  the 
caravan  of  the  Kuraish,  and  cut  it  off.  So  we  went 
against  the  caravan,  and  the  others  went  back  to  the 
Prophet  and  told  him.     And  he  rose  up,  his  face  red  with 

♦Beginning  Dec.  29,  623  a.d,,  in  the  ordinary  tables. 
\Musnad,  i.,  178. 


244  Mohammed 

anger,  and  said,  What!  Did  ye  go  from  me  in  one  com- 
pany and  come  back  divided  ?  Division  it  is  which  ruined 
them  which  were  before  you.  I  shall  set  over  you  a 
man  who  is  not  the  best  of  you,  yet  is  the  most  enduring 
of  hunger  and  thirst.  So  he  set  over  us  Abdallah,  son 
of  Jahsh,  who  was  the  first  Commander  in  Islam." 

Most  of  this  account  cannot  be  reconciled  with 
the  ordinary  history,  yet  clearly  Sa'd's  memory  had 
been  impressed  with  the  fact  of  their  having  been 
sent  out  in  the  sacred  month.  The  commander  of 
the  force  was  Mohammed's  cousin,  Abdallah,  son 
of  Jahsh,  under  whom  seven  men  were  placed.  The 
little  that  is  known  of  this  man  makes  it  appear  that 
he  was  a  fanatic  ;  he  is  supposed  to  have  prayed 
that  he  might  die  in  battle  and  be  mutilated.  He 
had  shared  the  double  flight  to  Abyssinia,  and  was 
now  a  poor  Refugee  at  Medinah.  Mohammed  sent 
him  towards  Nakhlah  with  sealed  orders,  to  be  opened 
after  two  days'  march ;  and  when  he  opened  the 
orders,  he  was  to  compel  no  one  to  accompany  him 
any  farther.  These  preparations  indicate  that  some- 
thing discreditable  was  intended ;  for  service  in  the 
sacred  months  was  not  dangerous,  but,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Arabs,  wicked.  The  text  of  the  orders,  as 
given  by  the  genuine  tradition,*  contained  definite 
instructions  to  attack  a  party  who  were  going  without 
escort  under  cover  of  the  sacred  month.  No  one  of 
Abdallah's  followers  took  advantage  of  the  permis- 
sion to  retire  ;  but  two  members  of  the  party,  Sa'd, 
son  of  Abu  Wakkas,  and  'Utbah,  son  of  Ghazwan, 


*  Wakidi{W.),  25  ;    Wellhausen,  Jbid.%  2. 


en   •-» 


The  Battle  of  Badr  245 

contrived  presently  to  lose  their  camel,  and  to  lose 
themselves  in  following  it.  The  remainder  came  up 
with  a  caravan  escorted  by  four  persons.  Of  these 
one  escaped,  two  were  taken  prisoners,  and  one  was 
killed.  'Arar,  son  of  Al-Hadrami  (the  man  of  Had- 
ramaut),  was  the  first  of  the  millions  to  be  slaught- 
ered in  the  name  of  Allah  and  his  Prophet.  Wakid, 
son  of  Abdallah  of  the  tribe  Tamim,  was  the  slayer. 
The  two  prisoners  and  considerable  booty  were 
brought  back  to  Medinah.  At  last  a  success  had 
been  gained. 

This  success  was  in  a  way  the  seed  of  those  which 
followed,  and  in  organising  it  Mohammed  showed 
his  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  character  of  his 
subjects.  Some  booty  was  absolutely  necessary, 
but  it  was  not  absolutely  necessary  that  it  should  be 
honourably  acquired.  Claiming  to  be  the  Messenger 
of  the  Almighty,  he  had  the  right  to  authorise  any 
act;  and  whether  on  this  or  some  other  occasion, 
when  remonstrated  with  by  his  followers  for  some 
atrocity,  he  repudiated  their  right  to  criticise  his  con- 
duct, assuring  them  that  he  knew  best  and  was  the 
most  God-fearing  among  them.*  The  effect  of  this 
success  was,  as  he  rightly  calculated,  that  the  next 
time  he  organised  a  raid,  Helpers  and  Refugees  alike 
pressed  to  take  part  in  it.  Violation  by  Allah's 
Prophet  of  the  sacred  months  which  the  pagans  re- 
spected lost  Mohammed  no  vote  that  was  worth 
retaining.  The  Jews  indeed  signalised  themselves 
by  offensive  sneers  and  poor  epigrams  on  the  names 
of  the  persons  concerned,  Wakid  "  the  Burner,"  and 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  220;  Musnad,  i.,  45. 


246  Mohammed 

Hadramaut,  "the  presence  of  death."  And  so,  too, 
the  Kuraish  could  tell  their  Moslem  fellow-citizens* 
that  Mohammed  had  now  thrown  off  the  mask  and 
revealed  the  character  which  had  been  no  secret  to 
them.  Mohammed  kept  his  head  and  satisfied  each 
party  that  he  considered  to  merit  satisfaction,  with 
a  statesmanlike  disregard  for  consistency. 

To  the  timid  Moslems  courage  and  a  clear  con- 
science were  restored  by  the  invariable  expedient — 
a  revelation.  "  Fighting  in  a  sacred  month  is  a  bad 
offence :  but  to  turn  people  out  of  Meccah  a  worse 
one."  The  Moslems  were  to  infer  from  this  ambigu- 
ous sentence  either  that  the  atrocity  committed  by 
the  Kuraish  rendered  an  attack  on  them  in  the 
sacred  month  permissible,  or  that,  though  no  such 
attack  had  been  made,  the  Meccans  might  not  com- 
plain if  it  had  been.  The  booty  was  awarded  to  the 
brave  company  who  had  won  it,  all  but  the  percent- 
age (one  fifth)  which  the  Prophet  claimed.  The 
Meccan  prisoners  he  retained  as  hostages  till  the  two 
truants  had  come  back ;  for  the  prisoners  he  then 
accepted  a  ransom.  The  death  of  the  Hadramite 
was  of  considerable  consequence  for  the  sequel. 
This  man  and  his  brother  were  under  the  protection 
of  'Utbah,  son  of  Rabi'ah,  a  Kurashite  of  eminence, 
whom  we  afterwards  meet  with  playing  a  heroic 
part  at  the  battle  of  Badr ;  the  protector  in  such  a 
case  was  bound  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  client. 
At  Badr  the  brother  of  the  dead  man,  'Amir,  de- 
manded this  vengeance  of  his  protector,  who  offered 
payment  in  camels  instead,  but  this  'Amir  refused  to 

*  Ibn  Arabi  Colloquies,  ii.,  157. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  247 

take,  at  the  instigation  (it  is  said)*  of  Mohammed's 
enemy,  Abu  Jahl.  'Utbah  therefore  resolved  to 
fight,  with  the  result  which  shall  be  seen.  The 
blood-feud  then  which  finally  decided  the  Meccans 
to  fight  the  Medinese  sprang  out  of  the  relation  be- 
tween client  and  patron  which,  owing  to  its  uncertain 
nature,  led  to  many  complications,  but,  like  other 
matters  which  are  left  to  the  conscience,  produced  a 
group  of  rights  and  duties  which  the  most  honourable 
natures  were  the  most  ready  to  observe. 

What  Mohammed  had  to  bear  from  the  Jews 
during  this  series  of  reverses,  ending  with  a  scanda- 
lous success,  we  do  not  exactly  know ;  as  failure 
succeeded  failure  their  jeers  doubtless  became  louder 
and  their  sarcasms  more  stinging.  We  shall  find  them 
many  times  repeating  the  process  of  triumphing  pre- 
maturely, of  irritating  without  hurting.  Mohammed 
lost  patience  with  them  after  long  endurance  of  their 
jibes.  Their  ordinary  modes  of  speech  appeared  to 
him  to  contain  some  offensive  arriere-pensee,  and  Mos- 
lems were  forbidden  to  employ  the  same.  Modern 
ingenuity  cannot  discern  wherein  the  offensiveness 
lay.  Probably  after  the  affair  which  we  have  been 
describing  he  decided  definitely  to  break  with  them. 
He  received  a  sudden  revelation  bidding  him  to  turn 
his  back  when  he  prayed  to  the  Jewish  Kiblah  (or 
prayer-direction),  Jerusalem,  and  his  face  to  the  Mec- 
can  temple,  the  Ka'bah.  For  the  Day  of  Atonement 
he  substituted  a  new  fast,  the  month  Ramadan,  to 
be  kept  in  the  style  familiar  to  visitors  of  Eastern 

I*  Wellhausen  {Wakidi,  p.  14)  regards  the  introduction  of  Abu 
Jahl  in  these  cases  as  due  to  the  development  of  a  myth. 


248  Mohammed 

states ;  no  food  (liquid  or  solid)  may  be  consumed 
from  sunrise  to  sunset,  but  even  revelry  is  permitted 
at  night.  Some  have  connected  this  institution  with 
one  of  the  Sabians  of  Harran ;  this  sect  are  said  to 
have  fasted  a  whole  month,  and  Mohammed,  where 
compelled  to  differ  from  both  Jews  and  Christians, 
may  have  gone  to  them.*  Others  f  suppose  the 
fasting  month  to  have  been  an  institution  of  the  old 
Arabic  religion  to  which  Mohammed  went  back; 
and  this,  considering  the  nature  of  the  change  in  the 
prayer-direction,  is  not  impossible.  Besides  wound- 
ing the  Jews,  it  would  serve  to  keep  his  followers  in 
training  for  the  pursuit  which  they  had  been  prac- 
tising for  many  months,  for  bandits  kept  concealed 
in  the  day  and  only  moved  at  night.  The  feast 
which  follows  the  fasting  month  was  to  serve  as  a 
substitute  for  one  of  the  two  public  holidays  which 
the  Medinese  had  celebrated  in  their  pagan  days,  % 
and  on  it  the  Prophet  ordered  drums  to  be  beaten.  § 
With  it  some  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  old  worship 
of  the  dead  got  united.  ||  With  these  institutions  we 
may  further  connect  the  adoption  of  the  Friday  as 
a  day  for  public  worship.  This  was  not  indeed  to 
be  a  Sabbath ;  for  that  institution  he  had  no  desire 
to  imitate,  but  it  was  to  correspond  with  the  sacred 
week-day  of  the  other  communities,  and  since  the 
Christians  had  seized  the  day  after  the  Saturday,  he 
had  no  choice  but  to  take  the  day  before  it.     The 

*Winckler,  Altorientalische  Forschungen,  ii.,  348. 

f  Nielsen,  Altar abische  Mondreligion,  168. 

\Musnad,  iii.,  105. 

%Ibid.,  422. 

||  Goldziher,  M.  S.,  i.,  240. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  249 

suggestion  that  such  a  day  was  desirable  is  said  to 
have  been  made  by  a  Medinese  named  Rabah  or 
Riyah,  son  of  Rabi\*  The  change  of  the  prayer- 
direction  was  also  not  merely  anti-Judaic ;  he  had 
no  sooner  spilt  Meccan  blood  than  he  resolved  to 
open  the  road  to  an  agreement  with  the  Meccans. 
Their  temple  then  was  to  be  retained  in  its  proud 
position  of  central  sanctuary  of  Arabia.  Moham- 
med's religion  would  not  affect  the  solemnities  which 
had  made  Meccah  wealthy  and  famous.  We  fancy, 
too,  that  he  had  learned  by  some  accident  that  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem  was  no  longer  standing,  and  he 
got  an  idea  that  the  rebuilding  of  it  would  mean  the 
ruin  of  Medinah.f 

The  Jews,  it  appears,  were  thoroughly  alarmed  at 
this  new  move  of  Mohammed,  and,  it  is  asserted, 
offered  to  acknowledge  his  mission,  if  he  would  go 
back  to  his  former  praying  direction.  But  Moham- 
med had  by  this  time  resolved  on  their  destruction, 
and  even  if  the  offer  had  been  meant  earnestly,  would 
have  done  unwisely  to  accept  it.  Had  the  Jews  not 
been  afraid  of  him,  they  would  never  have  made  it ; 
had  they  any  plan,  any  resolution,  any  courage,  they 
would  have  utilised  this  period  of  failure  and  igno- 
miny to  crush  him.  How  cordial  co-operation  on 
the  part  of  the  Jews  would  have  affected  Mohammed 
at  Medinah  we  do  not  know ;  resolute  and  cour- 
ageous opposition  might  for  some  time  yet  have 
effected  a  good  deal. 

*  Usd  al-ghabah.     Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  83,  states  that  it  was  instituted  in 
the  correspondence  between  Mohammed  and  Mus'ab,  son  of  'Umain 
f  Jahiz%  Bayan,  i.,  165. 


250  Mohammed 

From  this  time  the  breach  widened  :  and  whereas 
Mohammed  had  a  few  months  before  carefully  imi- 
tated Jewish  practices,  he  now  forbade  his  followers 
to  do  anything  like  the  Jews.*  If  they  fasted  for 
the  Day  of  Atonement,  they  were  to  keep  the  fast 
one  day  before  or  after  the  Jewish  day.  f  Having 
altered  his  mode  of  doing  his  hair  from  the  pagan 
style,  in  which  it  was  parted,  to  that  of  the  Jews, 
who  let  it  hang  loose,  he  now  reverted  to  the  pagan 
fashion,  %  and  in  his  ordinances  about  dyeing  the 
hair  forbade  imitating  the  Jews.  §  He  ruled  that 
the  pagan  as  opposed  to  the  Jewish  mode  of  burial 
should  be  employed  by  his  followers,  ||  and  that 
they  should  stand  at  funerals  instead  of  sitting, 
which  was  the  Jewish  practice.^"  The  rules  concern- 
ing menstruating  women  were  altered  in  a  manner 
which  implied  opposition  to  the  Jewish  code.  ** 
Consultation  of  the  Jews  on  doubtful  points  was 
forbidden,  ff  A  long  revelation,  somewhat  in  the 
style  of  Stephen's  Apology,^  was  fulminated  against 
them.  This  tirade,  which  constitutes  most  of  the 
second  Surah,  is  regarded  by  Moslems  as  a  marvel 
of  eloquence,  and  appears  to  have  produced  a  pro- 
found impression — not  on  the  Jews  themselves,  but 


*  Musnad,  i.,  165. 

\Ibid.,  242. 

\  Ibid.,  246. 

%Ibn  Sctd,  iii.,  157,  27. 

I  Musnad,  iv. ,  363. 

\Ibid.,  85. 

**  Ibid.,  132. 

\\  Ibid.,  338. 

X\  Preserved  Smith,  p.  84,  makes  this  comparison. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  2  5 1 

in  stirring  up  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  Medinah 
against  them.  It  was  followed  by  others.  To  these 
repeated  philippics  we  may,  in  part,  ascribe  the  cir. 
cumstance  that  in  the  severe  measures  which  he 
proceeded  to  take  against  the  Jews  he  met  with 
little  or  no  opposition  on  the  part  of  their  former 
allies. 

Meanwhile  the  luck  had  turned.  The  violation  of 
the  sacred  month  had  shocked  some  followers,  but 
it  had  caused  no  apostasies :  the  net  was  still  further 
spread  over  the  consciences  of  those  who  by  assent- 
ing had  compromised  themselves  therein.  To  the 
revelations  which  now  served  so  many  purposes  the 
old  argument  of  Abu  Bakr  was  applied  by  an  ever- 
increasing  circle.  Having  believed  so  much,  why 
should  they  not  believe  more  ?  Having  overridden 
so  many  scruples,  why  be  delayed  by  any  from 
following  the  Prophet's  career  ? 

Between  the  people  of  Meccah  and  the  Prophet 
there  was  now  a  blood-feud.  'Amr,  son  of  the  Ha- 
dramite,  had  been  killed,  and  under  specially  dis- 
graceful circumstances.  Vengeance  was  due  for  him? 
which  might  be  exacted  not  only  from  Moham- 
med and  his  co-Refugees,  but  also  from  the  Helpers 
-who  had  undertaken  their  protection.  The  next 
scene,  therefore,  represents  a  very  considerable  ad- 
vance. The  Meccans  are  not  all  bent  on  avoid- 
ing a  conflict  with  their  robber-kinsman  ;  some  of 
them  are  no  less  anxious  for  it  than  he.  And  the 
natives  of  Medinah  follow  the  Prophet  to  the  battle- 
field as  well  as  the  Refugees. 

The  caravan  which  had  escaped  Mohammed  the 


252  Mohammed 

previous  November  was  on  its  way  home  in  March, 
It  was  under  the  command  of  Abu  Sufyan,  whose 
descendants  afterwards  reigned  over  Islam,  forming 
what  is  known  as  the  Umayyad  dynasty.  They  had 
done  good  business  in  Syria  and  were  bringing  home 
goods  of  the  value  (it  is  said)  of  five  hundred  thou- 
sand francs.  The  prize  was  worthy  of  an  effort  and 
Mohammed  resolved  to  make  it. 

How  news  travels  in  the  East  is  to  this  day  a 
wonder.  Probably  the  carrier-pigeon  does  more 
work  than  is  ordinarily  credited  to  it ;  speculators 
of  different  kinds  have  agents  who  thus  keep  them 
informed  of  various  events,  primarily  for  commercial 
purposes ;  but  the  information  can  also  be  used  for 
other  objects.  There  are  other  organised  modes  of 
signalling  of  which  the  secret  is  rarely  revealed. 
Moreover,  members  of  the  Khuza'ah  (in  Meccah) 
were  already  in  league  with  Mohammed,  assisting 
him  against  the  Kuraish.*  Mohammed  on  this  oc- 
casion sent  spies  to  a  point  in  the  road  some  time 
before  the  caravan  actually  passed  :  but  these  were 
outwitted  by  the  chieftain  in  whose  territory  they 
waited ;  yet  the  news  reached  Mohammed  none  the 
less,  according  to  one  account,  through  one  Busai- 
sah.f  On  receiving  the  information  he  called  to 
arms;  and  the  memory  of  the  spoils  which  had  at 
last  reached  Medinah  acted  like  the  display  of  nug- 
gets brought  as  specimens  from  a  gold-mine :  every 
one  wished  to  share  in  the  plunder.  Of  the  multitude 
who  answered  the  appeal  some  60  Helpers  and  240 

*  Musnad%  iv.,  325. 
\IHd.t  iii.,  136. 


=  2 


5  J 

<     rt 
5     1 


w 
A 


The  Battle  of  Badr  253 

Refugees  were  selected*  (perhaps  with  the  view 
of  reproducing  the  numbers  employed  by  "  Talut," 
i.  e.t  Gideon -Saul  in  the  battle  recorded  in  the 
Koran  f).  Two  horses  and  70  camels  were  all  the 
beasts  that  could  be  got  together,  many  of  the  latter 
being  taken  from  agricultural  operations.  The  own- 
ers of  the  camels  were  requested  by  the  Prophet 
each  of  them  to  permit  two  or  three  of  their  un- 
mounted comrades  to  ride  by  turns  with  themselves ; 
which  they  did.  %  Probably  the  men  took  with  them 
small  stores  of  dates  §  by  way  of  commissariat.  On 
some  expeditions  the  soldiers  trusted  to  locusts  | ; 
whereas  the  dried  strips  of  cooked  meat  used  by  the 
pilgrims  at  other  times  furnished  them  with  food.  If 
When  the  Moslems  had  become  richer,  camels  were 
sent  by  wealthy  members  of  the  community  to 
be  slaughtered  at  the  rate  of  one  camel  for  a  hundred 
soldiers**:  the  Meccan  commissariat  was  similar,  the 
soldiers  also  carrying  with  them  supplies  of  meat. 
One  Abu  Lubabah  was  sent  to  govern  Medinah  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  the  army;  and  a  governor  was 
also  sent  to  keep  Kuba  quiet,  where  there  seemed 
danger  of  disturbance. ft    Abu  Sufyan,  however,  got 


*  Different  estimates  of  the  Moslems  who  fought  at  Badr :  Ishak, 
314  (83  Refugees,  61  Aus,  170  Khazraj) ;  Abu  Ma'shar,  313;  Ibn 
'Ukbah,  316.  Ibn  Scfd,  //.,  ii.,  134. 

\  Musnad,  iv.,  291. 

\IHd.%  in.,  358. 

§Cf.  Musnad,  iii.,  446. 

I  Musnad,  iv.,  353. 

^Ibid.%  iii.,  85. 

**  IVakidi  ( W\  231. 

\\IbnSa%d,  //.,ii.,  36. 


254  Mohammed 

early  information — at  Zarka* — of  the  fact  that  Mo- 
hammed planned  an  attack  in  great  force,  and  while 
hurrying  to  Meccah  by  routes  known  to  few  besides 
himself,  and  by  forced  marches,  he  also  sent  a  scout 
to  call  the  Meccans  to  help.  The  scout,  according  to 
custom,  disfigured  his  camel  and  rode  it  backwards. 
Hearing  his  message,  the  Meccans  resolved  on  a  gen- 
eral rally  in  which  all  men  either  joined  or  sent  sub- 
stitutes. It  had  been  Mohammed's  plan  to  infest  the 
route  where  it  passed  near  Medinah.  Thither  the 
Meccans*  army,  some  thousand  strong, f  after  three 
days'  preparation,  hastened. 

Owing  to  the  importance  of  the  battle  of  Badr  such 
a  number  of  conflicting  legends  grew  round  it  that 
each  statement  about  it  must  be  received  with  some 
distrust,  there  being  so  many  grounds  for  falsification. 

It  is  stated  that  when  the  Meccan  force,  having 
started,  learnt  by  messenger  of  the  safety  of  the  cara- 
van, several  persons  were  of  opinion  that  the  wisest 
course  would  be  to  return  to  Meccah  without  fighting, 
and  one  or  two  tribes  actually  did  so  (notably  the 
Zuhrites,  to  whom  Mohammed's  mother  belonged, 
and  the  Banu  'Adi).  This  counsel  is  assigned  by  the 
tradition  to  'Utbah,  son  of  Rabi'ah,  whereas  the  deter- 
mination to  proceed  is  ascribed  to  Abu  Jahl,  the  old 
opponent  of  Mohammed.  One  ground  for  the  pro- 
posed retirement  was  the  fact  that  the  Meccans  were 
at  feud  with  another  tribe,  the  Bakr  Ibn  Kinanah, 
who  might  be  expected  to  attack  the  city  when  its 


*  Wakidi,  21. 

f  Nine  hundred  and  fifty  men,  seven  hundred  camels,  one  hundred 
horses. —  Wakidi  ( IV.),  44. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  255 

defenders  were  away.  It  was  also  remembered  that 
the  Refugees,  though  enemies,  were  their  own  kin ; 
albeit,  on  the  other  hand,  the  blood  which  Moham- 
med had  spilled  cried  for  vengeance.  To  us,  en- 
deavouring to  recall  the  situation,  with,  it  is  true, 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  facts,  it  is  difficult  to  say 
which  course  would  have  savoured  most  of  true 
wisdom.  If  the  caravan  had  been  in  danger,  there 
would  have  been  no  question  :  but  it  had  reached 
safety  well  before  the  battle,  and  if  Mohammed  had 
been  suffered  to  return  to  Medinah  having  gained 
nothing,  bankruptcy  and  failure  combined  might 
have  injured  him  as  much  as  a  lost  battle.  On  the 
other  hand,  an  important  factor  in  the  situation, 
Mohammed's  military  ability,  was  unknown  to  them, 
as  indeed  it  was  to  his  friends :  they  were  enorm- 
ously superior  in  numbers,  and,  in  some  respects, 
in  equipment.  Retreat  might  bring  them  into  con- 
tempt, when  there  was  blood  to  be  avenged.  Mo- 
hammed's raids  occasioned  some  inconvenience, 
though  till  then  no  serious  damage  ;  and  a  chance 
of  getting  rid  of  him  should  not  be  neglected. 
It  is  probable  that  to  most  of  those  who  had  a  voice 
in  the  matter  the  arguments  in  favour  of  advancing 
seemed  weightier  than  those  on  the  other  side. 
Their  resolution  turned  out  to  be  disastrous:  we  do 
not  know  whether  the  opposite  course  would  have 
proved  more  beneficial. 

The  scene  of  the  famous  battle,  Badr,  lies  at  the 
end  of  a  westerly  ramification  of  the  great  chain  of 
mountains  which  follows  the  Arabian  coast-line.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  the  locality  of  an  annual  fair, 


256  Mohammed 

held  on  the  first  eight  days  of  the  month  preceding 
the  pilgrim  month.  It  lay  near  the  point  at  which 
the  Syrian  road  to  Meccah  leaves  the  coast  to  wind 
through  difficult  passes.  From  the  number  which 
Mohammed  took  with  him  it  would  seem  that  he 
hoped  to  overwhelm  opposition. 

The  route  followed  by  Mohammed  is  recorded 
in  detail*;  of  the  names  which  meet  us  in  it  the 
most  familiar  is  Safra,  a  village  about  a  day's  jour- 
ney from  Badr,  visited  by  Burckhardt.  The  ordin- 
ary route  from  Safra  to  Badr  passes  through  a  very 
narrow  and  difficult  valley :  Mohammed  is  said  to 
have  avoided  it,  because  some  of  the  names  wounded 
his  sense  of  delicacy :  and  to  have  chosen  a  pass 
through  a  valley  called  "  Sweet-smelling  "  instead. 
The  motives  by  which  this  remarkable  man  was 
swayed  were  so  numerous  that  this  story  need  not 
be  rejected.  It  is  not  probable  that  this  fancy  lost 
the  precious  time  in  which  the  caravan  could  have 
been  caught ;  but  doubtless  it  lost  some. 

The  day  before  the  battle  (Ram.  18)  f  the  parties 
were  separated  by  one  sand  hill.  A  couple  of  men 
from  the  Meccan  army,  trying  to  find  water,  found 
their  way  to  the  Prophet's  camp,  and  one  of  them  % 
being  captured  brought  the  news  that  the  caravan 
had  escaped,  but  that  the  Meccan  army  was  at  hand. 
This  statement  occasioned  the  bitterest  disappoint- 
ment ;  the  Moslems  tried  hard  to  discredit  it  by  tortur- 
ing the  messenger  till  he  retracted ;  but  Mohammed 


*Ishaky  433. 

f  March  16,  624  A.D.,  according  to  the  ordinary  Tables. 

X  Memoirs  of  AH. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  257 

appears  to  have  satisfied  himself  that  the  statement 
was  true.  He  had,  therefore,  the  same  problem  be- 
fore him  as  the  Meccans  had  faced  when  the  news  of 
the  safety  of  the  caravan  reached  them  ;  and  he  (it  is 
said)  left  it  to  the  Helpers  to  decide ;  justly  acknow- 
ledging that  the  contract  which  they  had  made  by 
no  means  bound  the  Helpers  to  aid  him  in  aggres- 
sive warfare.  The  Helpers  were,  however,  eager  for 
battle — perhaps  doubting  whether  the  caravan  had 
got  into  safety  after  all.  There  is,  however,  a  story 
that  Mohammed  sent  Omar  to  offer  the  blood-money 
for  'Amr  the  Hadramite :  which  his  brother  'Amir, 
at  Abu  Jahl's  instigation,  refused.  The  story  is 
told  with  details  which  give  it  some  plausibility : 
'Amir  is  said  to  have  practised  the  peculiar  rites  by 
which  the  demand  for  blood  was  enforced.  Such  an 
act  may  perhaps  be  alluded  to  in  the  pride  and  osten- 
tation with  which  Mohammed  in  his  comments  on 
the  battle  charges  the  Meccans,  while  he  rather  im- 
plies that  the  Moslems  were  not  anxious  for  battle. 
After  the  victory  it  was  natural  that  the  latter  should 
represent  themselves  to  have  been  eager  to  fight  from 
the  commencement. 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  military  career  can,  , 
more  than  any  other,  be  started  successfully  late  in 
life ;  but  if  Mohammed,  entering  his  first  battle  as 
commander  at  the  age  of  fifty  three,  succeeded  be- 
yond all  hope,  the  result  must  be  attributed  to  his 
readiness  to  receive  suggestions.  The  help  of  the 
angels  or  other  supernatural  agencies  was  gratefully 
acknowledged  ex  post  facto,  but  for  the  attainment 
of  the  end  much  mor  commonplace  expedients  were 


258  Mohammed 

adopted.  Hubab,*  son  of  Al-Mundhir,  the  Prophet's 
junior  by  twenty  years,  having  ascertained  that  they 
were  engaged  in  ordinary  warfare,  and  possessing  a 
special  knowledge  of  the  wells  in  the  neighbourhood, 
advised  the  Prophet  to  get  in  front  of  all,  except 
one,  round  which  they  should  make  a  reservoir,  so 
as  to  have  a  constant  supply  of  water  for  the  troops  : 
the  possession  of  this  valuable  element  would  then 
save  the  day.  The  Prophet  welcomed  the  suggestion 
and  placed  his  force  under  Hubab's  guidance.  One 
Meccan  is  said  to  have  rushed  at  the  reservoir,  and 
to  have  paid  for  a  drink  with  his  life ;  but  when  a 
number  of  the  enemy  approached  they  were  allowed 
to  drink  unmolested — in  accordance  with  a  principle 
laid  down  in  Persian  treatises  on  tactics,  f 

Of  the  battle  that  followed  we  have  no  clear  or 
detailed  account :  but  we  know  at  least  some  of  the 
factors  which  brought  about  the  result.  The  dis- 
cipline of  the  salat  or  "  prayer,"  in  which  the  Mos- 
lems were  arranged  in  rows,  and  had  to  perform 
after  a  leader  certain  bodily  exercises,  %  and  falling 
out  of  line  was  threatened  with  divine  punishment,  § 
had  served  as  a  rough  sort  of  drill ,  and  Mohammed 
before  the  battle  discharged  the  duty  of  making  the 
troops  fall  into  line.  The  Meccan  general,  'Utbah, 
son  of  Rabiah,  was  struck  with  their  appearance: 
they  were  kneeling  on  their  knees,  silent  as  though 
they  were  dumb,  and  stretching  out  their  tongues 

*  Since  Hubab  was  the  name  of  a  demon,  it  is  strange  that  it  was 
not  altered. 

f  '  Uyun  al-Akhbar,  140,  12. 
\Musnad,  iv.,  228. 
%Ibid.,  iv..  2T* 


The  Battle  of  Badr  259 

like  snakes.*  They  were  all  subject  to  the  single  will 
of  their  Prophet,  who  was  aware  that  the  general 
should  not  risk  his  life  ;  for  him  therefore  in  the  rear 
cf  the  army  a  hut  was  built,  where,  attended  by  his 
most  trusted  counsellors,  he  could  issue  orders  ;  and 
to  which  camels  were  tied  ready  to  be  used  by  the 
leaders  for  flight  in  case  of  disaster.  When  the  first 
blood  was  shed  the  Prophet  retired  into  his  hut  and 
fainted  ;  when  he  had  come  to  himself  he  devoted 
the  time  to  impassioned  prayer,  showing  that  he  was 
thoroughly  alarmed,  f  The  members  of  the  cabinet, 
who  regarded  these  prayers  as  unseemly,  remained 
by  their  master  in  his  hut,  issuing  orders  when 
necessary.  The  soldiers  had  probably  been  supplied 
with  armour  by  the  Jews  of  Medinah,  who  could 
judge  well  of  such  goods,  though  unskilful  in  using 
them.  The  armour,  when  complete,  covered  the 
whole  person  except  the  legs  % ;  the  helmet  was  pro- 
vided with  a  continuation  for  the  throat  §;  thus  the 
holes  for  the  eyes  and  the  legs  offered  the  most 
promising  places  for  blows. 

Opposed  to  them  was  a  horde  of  Arabs,  far 
superior  in  numbers  (six  hundred  to  three  hundred), 
and  well  provided  with  cavalry  and  camels  ;  but  justi- 
fying otherwise  the  reproaches  levelled  against  the 
Arabs  in  later  days  when  foreign  Moslems  main- 
tained that  the  Arabs  were  inferior  to  other  races. 
The  Arabs,  ||   they  urged,  were  unacquainted  with 

*'  Uyun  al-Akhbar^  135. 
\  Muslim,  ii.,  55. 
\  Wellhausen  (  W.\  153. 
§  Wakidi(W.\  no. 
I  Jahiz,  Bayan,  ii.,  5a 


Mohammed 

the  rudiments  of  military  science.  They  fought  in 
no  order,  with  no  leadership,  with  no  suitable 
weapons  or  attire,  with  no  scouting,  no  artillery,  and 
no  camp  defence.  Of  the  hundred  or  more  techni- 
cal terms  which  the  warfare  of  Islam  evolved,  the 
Arabs  of  the  Ignorance  had  no  knowledge.  And  in- 
deed the  Meccan  leaders  fell  out  before  the  battle ; 
'Utbah,  son  of  Rabi'ah,  killing  his  colleague  Abu 
Jahl's  horse.  He  then,  in  order  to  show  his  courage 
before  his  rival,  abandoned  the  duty  of  director  of 
operations,  and  demanded  that  a  champion  of  the 
enemy  should  meet  him  in  single  combat ;  and  in  the 
miniature  combat  between  'Utbah  with  two  other 
Meccans,  and  Ali  with  Hamzah  and  another,  all 
three  Meccans  were  killed.  One  tradition  speaks  of 
a  Meccan  leader  having  deserted  in  the  middle  of 
the  combat,  and  so  having  broken  the  line  of  fight- 
ing men ;  but  the  source  of  this  statement  appears 
to  be  a  rather  too  literal  interpretation  of  the  realistic 
language  of  the  Koran  about  Iblis  or  the  devil.  The 
other  general,  Abu  Jahl,  being  on  foot,  was  forced  to 
fight  and  was  killed.  There  being  no  recognised 
leader  left,  the  Meccans  were  seized  with  panic  and 
turned  their  backs,  losing  seventy  slain  and  seventy 
captives  ;  the  Moslem  loss  was  fourteen. 

It  certainly  appears  that  the  winning  of  this  most 
important  fight  was  in  the  main  due  to  the  prowess 
of  Ali  (who  fought  without  armour  to  his  back)*  and 
Hamzah.  The  Prophet  is  said  to  have  bestowed 
especial  praise  on  the  valour  of  Simak,  son  of  Khara- 
shah,  Sahl,  son  of  Hunaif,  al-Harith,  son  of  al-Simmah, 

*  'Uyun  al-Akkbar,  162,  18. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  261 

and  Kais,  son  of  al-Rabi — all  of  them  Medinese.* 
The  armour  of  Abu  Jahl  is  said  to  have  been  worn 
by  three  men  in  succession,  each  of  whom  perished 
in  single  combat ;  after  the  death  of  the  third  no  one 
was  found  willing  to  don  it.  For  the  greater  part  of 
the  day  the  Moslems  remained  in  serried  formations, 
"fighting  (or  rather  defending  themselves)  like  a 
wall,"  except  when  a  champion  went  forward  to 
answer  a  challenge :  of  any  sort  of  order  or  discipline 
on  the  Meccan  side  we  do  not  hear.  The  greater 
number  of  deaths  and  captures  seem  to  have  taken 
place  late  in  the  day,  when  the  Meccans  turned 
their  backs.  What  we  cannot  understand  is  how,  if 
any  sort  of  purpose  was  to  be  found  in  the  Mec- 
can tactics,  their  cavalry  failed  to  trample  down  the 
enemy.  Sprenger  supposes  that  the  cavalry  was  de- 
terred by  fear  of  the  Moslem  archery ;  and  their 
attack  on  the  square  appears  to  have  been  re- 
sisted. But  with  their  superiority  in  numbers  there 
should  have  been  no  difficulty  in  outflanking,  for 
the  accounts  of  the  battle  do  not  suggest  that  the 
Mohammedan  position  was  particularly  strong.  Mo- 
hammed himself  seems  to  have  been  puzzled  by  the 
result,  and  to  have  on  the  whole  regarded  it  as  due 
to  an  erroneous  estimate  of  the  forces  on  both  sides. 
The  Meccans  thought  the  Moslems  twice  as  many 
as  they  actually  were,  whereas  the  Moslems  similarly 
underestimated  the  Meccan  force.f  Mohammed's 
statements  on  this  matter  are  likely  to  be  based 
on  accurate  knowledge.     At  the  next  meeting  the 

*Isabah,  iii.,  491. 

f  Surah  iii.,  11,  viii.,  46. 


262  Mohammed 

victory  of  Uhud  was  rendered  fruitless  to  the  Mec- 
cans  by  their  erroneous  supposition  that  Mohammed 
had  still  an  enormous  force  at  his  command.  In  the 
Boer  war  grossly  mistaken  estimates  of  the  forces  in 
action  seem  many  times  to  have  been  made,  and  to 
have  been  of  influence  on  the  course  of  the  cam- 
paign. The  statement  of  the  Koran  forces  us  to 
reject,  as  biographical  fiction,  the  story  that  Mo- 
hammed made  before  the  battle  an  exact  computa- 
tion of  the  force  arrayed  against  him  based  on  their 
daily  consumption  of  camels;  and  that  a  Meccan 
scout  by  inspection  of  the  Moslem  force  was  able  to 
estimate  it  exactly,  and  also  to  tell  that  it  had  no 
reinforcements  and  no  men  in  ambush.  It  is  more 
likely  that  the  Meccans  were  firmly  convinced  that 
Mohammed  had  an  enormous  reserve. 

Mohammedan  writers,  arguing  from  a  hint  in  the 
Koran,  further  imagine  that  the  heavy  rain  which 
fell  the  night  before  the  battle  was  of  advantage  to. 
the  Moslems,  but  the  opposite  to  the  Meccans. 
They  suppose  that  the  rain  by  moistening  the  sand 
rendered  it  firmer  and  better  suited  -to  infantry — 
perhaps  taking  the  words  of  the  Koran  too  literally. 
And  indeed  the  very  recent  writer  who  "  went  on  the 
track  of  the  masked  Tawariks  "  declares  that  the  feet 
of  camels  are  useless  when  the  ground  is  wet. 
Further,  they  interpret  the  passage  as  meaning  that 
the  Moslem  forces  actually  slept  the  night  before 
the  battle,  and  so  came  to  the  fight  fresher  than  the 
Meccans,  who  had  kept  awake,  fearing  a  surprise, 
and  perhaps  also  doubting  the  fidelity  of  different 
detachments  after  the  loss  of  two  by  desertion.     If 


The  Battle  of  Badr  263 

the  night  was  spent  in  this  way  by  the  armies,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Mohammed  was  correct  when 
he  declared  that  each  was  quite  mistaken  in  its  esti- 
mate of  the  numbers  of  the  other. 

Too  much  confidence  must  not,  however,  be  placed 
in  the  Prophet's  statements.  Thus  he  declared  that 
God  had  promised  them  (before  the  battle)  one  of 
the  two — either  the  caravan  or  the  Meccan  host ; 
yet  it  appears  that  of  the  arrival  of  the  latter  Mo- 
hammed had  no  knowledge  till  the  day  before  the 
battle,  and  the  same  messenger  who  brought  news 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Meccan  force,  must  also  have 
brought  intelligence  of  the  safety  of  the  caravan. 
Then  to  the  Moslem  prayer  for  help,  he  says,  there 
came  an  answer  that  a  reinforcement  of  one  thou- 
sand angels,  each  with  a  back  rider,  would  be  sent. 
Finally  even  these  angels  had  to  be  encouraged  by  a 
special  promise  of  the  divine  assistance.  We  can- 
not very  well  believe  that  the  promise  of  the  angels' 
help  was  made  till  after  the  victory  was  won.  Had 
Mohammed  known  the  size  of  the  force  opposed  to 
him,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  have  fought ; 
and  he  was  too  cautious  to  promise  angelic  assist- 
ance when  there  was  no  chance  of  its  arriving. 
Once,  however,  the  angels  had  been  called  in,  it  cost 
nothing  to  multiply  them ;  and  the  next  year  the 
angels  who  fought  at  Badr  had  grown  to  three  thou- 
sand.* But  in  the  popular  tradition  the  credit  of  the 
battle  was  ascribed  not  to  the  angels,  but  the  prowess 
of  the  family  of  Abd  al-Muttalib,f  who  years  after 

*  Surah  iii.,  120. 

f  Jahiz,  Mahasin,  140. 


264  Mohammed 

continued  to  fling  it  in  the  face  of  Abu  Sufyan's 
descendants. 

Discipline  and  steadfastness  of  purpose  are  said  to 
win  battles,  and  it  is  clear  that  these  qualities  were 
to  be  found  on  the  Moslem  side,  not  on  the  Meccan. 
Mohammed,  in  getting  his  troops  into  line,  is  said  to 
have  hurt  one  of  his  followers  with  his  staff ;  the  in- 
jured man,  by  way  of  obtaining  amends,  kissed  his 
leader's  stomach.  We  have  but  to  contrast  this 
scene  with  the  unseemly  brawls  between  the  Meccan 
leaders  to  understand  one  reason  why  the  Meccans 
failed.  And  further,  there  is  evidence  that  the  mo- 
tive which  worked  wonders  in  so  many  Moslem 
battle-fields  helped  largely  too  in  this.  Death  in 
the  path  of  God  was  regarded  by  not  a  few  of  the 
fighters  as  a  better  thing  than  victory.  Overwrought 
with  desire  for  their  gaudily  painted  paradise  they 
chafed  at  the  chains  which  bound  them  to  this 
world :  they  flung  themselves  with  rapture  on  the 
enemy,  whose  swords  formed  so  many  keys  to  the 
gates  of  the  eternal  kingdom.  Well  able  to  assist 
by  their  counsels,  and  to  impart  strength  and  en- 
durance, Al-Lat  and  Al-'Uzza  had  in  store  no  Garden 
of  Delight,  to  be  entered  by  the  grave  and  gate  of 
death.  Those  who  died  in  their  service,  if  they  did 
not,  as  Mohammed  declared,  enter  the  Fire,  yet  at 
best,  according  to  their  account,  had  a  continuation 
of  their  personality  similar  to  that  enjoyed  by  Mr. 
Myers's  discarnate  spirits:  the  sovereign  among 
whom  might  be  thought  worse  off  than  a  poor  slave 
up  above. 

And  finally  early  satirists  of  the  Kuraish  accuse 


The  Battle  of  Badr  265 

them  without  hesitation  of  cowardice.  As  merchants 
they  had  obtained  some  immunity  from  fighting,  and 
by  putting  some  bark  or  other  sign  on  themselves 
when  they  left  their  houses,  they  could  pass  safely 
where  others  would  be  challenged.  The  poet  who 
refers  to  this  practice  taunts  the  Kuraish  with  their 
abandonment  of  the  Ka'bah  at  the  time  of  the  in- 
vasion \.  and  the  unwillingness  to  shed  blood  and 
readiness  to  leave  the  field  which  characterise  their 
actions  till  the  taking  of  Meccah  seem  to  show  that 
the  poet  was  right  in  his  estimate.  * 

But  it  is  likely  that  the  point  on  which  Sir  William  f 
Muir  insists,  the  horror  of  shedding  kindred  blood 
on  the  one  side,  with  the  desire  to  shed  it  which 
prevailed  on  the  other  side,  was  after  all  the  leading 
factor  in  deciding  the  battle  in  favour  of  the  Moslems. 
The  cases  in  which  members  of  the  same  family  were 
ranged  on  opposite  sides  were  numerous;  and  Is- 
lam, as  appears  from  the  most  authorised  traditions, 
had  the  effect  of  making  men  anxious  rather  than 
otherwise  to  signalise  their  faith  by  parricide  or  frat- 
ricide. The  Tradition  records  a  case,  presumably 
later  than  this  time,  when  a  man  told  Mohammed 
he  had  killed  his  father  for  speaking  slightingly  of 
the  Prophet ;  who  received  the  intelligence  calmly,  f 
And  lest  any  filial  affection  should  remain,  he  ex- 
pressly forbade  men  to  pray  for  the  souls  of  their 
unbelieving  fathers.  When  it  was  pointed  out  that 
according  to  the  Koran  Abraham  had  done  this  for 
his  father,  a  special  revelation  came  down,  explaining 

*  yahiz,  Opuscula,  6l. 
\  Isabah,  Hi.,  708. 


266  Mohammed 

that  Abraham  had  specially  promised  "  Azar  "  that 
he  would  do  this — one  wonders  how  or  when; 
and  in  quite  late  revelations  this  act  of  Abraham 
is  noticed  as  a  slur  on  his  character.*  Abu 
Bakr's  son  (it  is  said),  who  was  converted  long 
after,  told  his  father  that  he  had  intentionally 
spared  him  on  the  day  of  Badr.  Abu  Bakr 
answered  that  had  he  had  the  chance  he  would 
have  slain  his  son.  Abu  'Ubaidah,  son  of  Al-Jarrah, 
actually  killed  his  father,  who  was  fighting  on  the 
Meccan  side ;  he  is  credited  indeed  with  having  en- 
deavoured to  avoid  the  necessity.  Abu  Hudhaifah, 
not  being  permitted  to  fight  with  his  father,  'Utbah, 
son  of  Rabi'ah,  in  single  combat,  still  assisted  in  dis- 
patching him.f  Mus'ab,  son  of  'Umair,  urged  the 
captor  of  his  brother  to  demand  a  heavy  ransom, 
because  their  mother  could  well  pay  it,  declaring 
the  captor  to  be  of  nearer  kin  to  himself,  being 
a  Moslem.:):  Probably  Moslem  earnestness  was  a 
case  of  that  principle  of  human  nature  by  which 
"what  before  was  too  much  feared  is  all  the  more 
eagerly  trampled  under  foot."  Mohammed  indeed 
appears  to  have  endeavoured  to  obtain  immunity 
for  his  own  relatives  and  former  benefactors,  and 
thereby  to  have  incurred  the  reproach  of  one  of  his 
followers,  who  thought  the  Prophet  should  have  set 
a  better  example — the  Prophet  who  for  years  had 
owed  the  continuance  of  his  existence  to  the  respect 
felt  for  kindred  blood !     But  the  Prophet  was  him- 


*  Surah  lx. ,  4. 

f  Wakidi  (  W.)t  54. 

\  ibid.,  79. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  267 

self  at  no  time  a  gloomy  fanatic  :  unlike  some  of  his 
followers ;  for  it  may  be  a  true  anecdote  which 
makes  one  of  the  Meccans  before  the  fight  compare 
the  healthy  faces  of  the  idolators  with  the  woe- 
begone, melancholy  looks  of  the  monotheists,  and 
warn  the  Meccan  leaders  against  a  course  which 
might  reduce  the  Meccans  to  the  same  miserable  con- 
dition. The  French  revolution  exhibits  well-known 
cases  of  men  in  whom  principle  took  the  form  of 
a  thirst  for  blood.  This  passion  indeed  seized  pos- 
session of  the  victorious  ranks  at  Badr.  Some  men 
who  had  yielded  themselves  prisoners  could  not 
be  rescued  by  their  captors  from  the  fanatics,  who 
preferred  blood  to  ransoms.  Those  who  had  en- 
dured torture  at  Meccah  seized  the  opportunity  to 
exact  vengeance  from  their  persecutors.  *  Omar 
(always  ready  to  be  executioner)  was  for  slaughtering 
all  the  prisoners ;  one  fanatic,  the  poet  Abdallah,  son 
of  Rawahah,  suggested  that  they  should  be  burned,f 
and  Mohammed  in  his  revelation  declared  that  a 
massacre  would  have  been  more  pleasing  to  God : 
bloodshed  on  a  great  scale  being  calculated  to  impress 
the  imagination.  Economical  considerations  probably 
decided  him  against  carrying  this  out.  For  though 
the  spoil  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  camels 
and  ten  horses,  besides  some  goods  which  Meccan 
speculators  had  taken  with  them  in  the  hope  of  finding 
a  market,  and  the  clothes  and  armour  of  the  slain, 
seventy  prisoners  formed  an  asset  which  the  condition 
of  his  followers  did  not  allow  him  to  squander. 

*  So  Bilal  and  'Ammar. 
\Musnad,  i.,  383. 


268  Mohammed 

The  Prophet  spent  three  days  at  Badr  before 
he  commenced  the  triumphal  journey  home.  Some, 
it  is  said,  urged  him  to  make  a  rush  on  Meccah,  but 
for  that  enterprise  he  was  probably  not  prepared.* 
Before  they  left  Badr  a  pit  was  dug  or  cleared  into 
which  the  corpses  of  the  unbelievers  were  thrown ; 
and  the  exultant  conqueror,  though  ordinarily  rever- 
ent to  the  dead,  f  could  not  refrain  from  asking 
them  whether  they  were  now  convinced,  telling  his 
astonished  followers  that  the  corpses  could  hear, 
though  unable  to  answer.  Truly  he  might  exult 
over  his  deliverance  from  Abu  Jahl,  thanking  Allah 
who  had  helped  his  servant  and  strengthened  his 
religion  % ;  and  a  few  days  more  were  to  deliver  him 
from  Abu  Lahab.  Two  of  the  prisoners  were 
slaughtered  on  the  way,  Al-Nadir,  son  of  Al-Harith, 
and  'Ukbah,  son  of  Abu  Mu'ait.  The  latter  is  said 
to  have  treated  the  Prophet  with  roughness  ;  he  had 
also  had  early  connection  with  the  Jews,  and  may 
have  at  some  time  helped  the  Prophet  with  informa- 
tion ;  he  had  even  at  one  time  formally  espoused  Is- 
lam, but  had  afterwards  withdrawn.  The  dirge  § 
uttered  over  the  former  by  his  daughter  (or  sister)  is 
one  of  the  most  affecting  in  the  pathetic  dirge  litera- 
ture of  the  Arabs,  and  is  said  to  have  moved  Mo- 
hammed himself  to  tears  and  regrets.  The  man's 
offence  is  said  to  have  been  that  he  bought  the 
books  of  the  Greeks,  Persians,  and  Arabs  of  Hirah, 


*  Musnad,  i.,  229. 
\  Ibid.,  iv.,  252. 
%Ibid.,  i.,  442. 
%Zahr  al-adab,  i.,  28. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  269 

and  recited  their  contents ;  and  argued  that  if  story- 
telling was  the  criterion  of  a  prophet  he  had  as  good 
a  right  to  the  title  as  Mohammed.  His  daughter 
thought  a  brave  man  might  have  pardoned  even  such 
an  affront,  but  she  was  in  error. 

No  event  in  the  history  of  Islam  was  of  more  im- 
portance than  this  battle :  the  Koran  rightly  calls  it 
the  Day  of  Deliverance,  the  day  before  which  the 
Moslems  were  weak,  after  which  they  were  strong. 
Its  value  to  Mohammed  himself  it  is  difficult  to 
overrate  ;  he  possibly  regarded  it  himself  as  a  miracle, 
and  when  he  declared  it  one,  most  of  his  neighbours 
accepted  the  statement  without  hesitation.  His  own 
share  in  the  fighting  appears  to  have  been  small — 
was  indeed  confined  to  flinging  a  handful  of  pebbles 
in  the  enemies'  faces*;  but  he  wisely  claimed  the 
whole  not  as  his  own  work,  but  as  that  of  God. 
The  fate  that  had  befallen  the  enemy  was  a  just  re- 
tribution to  those  who  had  presumed  to  resist  God 
and  His  Prophet.  As  we  have  seen,  the  want  of  the 
power  to  perform  a  miracle  was  a  thing  that  embit- 
tered his  life.    Now  at  last  the  trial  had  been  removed. 

Wealth,  fame,  honour,  power,  all  of  them  were 
secured  or  at  any  rate  brought  within  reach  by  the 
Day  of  Deliverance.  At  a  later  time  to  have  taken 
part  in  the  battle  of  Badr  was  a  letter  of  nobility, 
and  when  the  proceeds  of  the  treasury  were  divided 
among  the  Moslems,  in  Omar's  time,  the  Badris  re- 
ceived five  thousand  dirhems  apiece. f     Mohammed 

*  Ali  however  asserted  that  he  had  fought  bravely. 
\  The  Badri  who  survived  longest  was  Sa'd,  son  of  Abu  Wakkas. 
Bokhari  (/Cast.)  vi.,  274. 


2  jo  Mohammed 

was  ready  to  the  end  of  his  life  to  forgive  any  offence 
committed 'by  one  who  had  taken  part  in  the  fight; 
God,  he  declared,  might  for  all  he  knew  have  given 
them  a  license  to  do  what  they  pleased.* 

Almost  immediately  after  the  battle  gifts  were  of- 
fered Mohammed  by  neighbouring  chiefs,  anxious 
to  win  his  favour ;  but  he  would  only  accept  them  on 
condition  of  the  givers  embracing  Islam.  Some  who 
refused  had  afterwards  occasion  to  regret  that  they 
had  not  at  this  time  taken  shares  in  the  new 
venture.f 

The  time  was  approaching  when  the  Refugees 
would  depend  no  longer  on  the  charity  of  the 
Helpers:  the  latter  were  beginning  to  enjoy  the 
profits  of  their  speculation  in  joining  Islam,  and 
those  who  had  stayed  at  home  wished  they  had 
joined  the  expedition.  The  share  which  accrued  to 
each  soldier  was  to  starvelings  comparative  wealth. 
Ali's  was  a  couple  of  camels.  Mohammed's  slave 
Salih,  who  was  given  charge  of  the  prisoners,  got 
gratuities  from  them  which  amounted  to  more  than 
a  share  in  the  spoil. %  The  Meccan  prisoners  were 
not  made  of  the  stern  stuff  which  Horace  has 
taught  us  to  admire  in  Regulus.  Little  difficulty 
was  made  about  offering  ransoms.  The  highest 
sum  so  given  was  four  thousand  dirhems ;  for 
others,  who  were  poorer,  a  smaller  sum  was  taken. 
In  the  case  of  quite  poor  men  (it  is  said)  the 
sum  was  paid  in  writing-lessons  given  to  Medinese 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  350. 
\Ibid.,  it.,  68. 
%  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii. ,  34. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  2  7 1 

lads ;  the  teachers  at  times  recouping  themselves 
with  blows.*  The  importance  of  this  art  was  now 
fully  recognised  by  Mohammed,  whof  urges  the 
utility  of  drawing  up  deeds  connected  with  property 
and  loans,  and  having  them  attested.  The  mode  in 
use  was  clumsy,  and  ere  long  a  new  fashion  was 
brought  to  Medinah,  which  Abu  Sufyan  took  the 
trouble  to  learn.  %  Among  the  prisoners  were 
Mohammed's  uncle  Abbas,  and  the  sons  of  his 
uncle  al-Harith :  from  one  of  them,  Naufal,  Mo- 
hammed demanded  as  ransom  a  thousand  spears 
which  he  kept  at  Jeddah ;  Naufal  is  said  to  have 
turned  Moslem  at  once,  supposing  the  Prophet  to 
have  learned  of  this  store  by  supernatural  means.  § 
To  Abbas  himself  the  Prophet  is  said  to  have  dis- 
played some  similar  knowledge.  "  Redeem  yourself, 
your  nephews,  and  your  confederates,"  he  said  to 
Abbas,  who  declined,  declaring  that  he  was  a  Moslem 
at  heart,  and  had  served  against  his  will.  "  God 
knows  best  about  that,"  was  the  reply ;  "  externally 
you  were  against  us,  so  ransom  yourself." — "You 
have  twenty  ounces  of  silver  that  I  lent  you,  take 
them  as  my  ransom." — "They  are  a  present  to  me 
from  God." — "  But  I  have  no  other  money." — "  Then 
where  is  the  money  which,  when  you  left  Meccah, 
you  secretly  deposited  with  your  wife  Umm  Fadl, 
with  instructions  how  it  should  be  shared  be- 
tween your  sons,  in  case  of  your  death?"     Abbas 


*  Musnad,  i.,  247. 
\  Surah  ii.,  282,283. 
%  Ibn  Duraid,  223. 
§  Isabah,  iii.,  1090. 


272  Mohammed 

(according  to  his  imaginative  son)  testified  that  Mo- 
hammed  was  the  Prophet  of  God,  when  he  heard 
this  secret  revealed :  yet  he  appears  to  have  paid 
his  ransom  none  the  less,  in  order  to  go  back  to 
Meccah.*  More  credit  attaches  to  the  tradition 
which  makes  Mohammed  endeavour  by  impressive 
religious  rites  to  make  proselytes  among  the  visitors 
who  came  to  redeem  their  friends  % ;  and  that  at- 
tempts were  made  by  kindly  treatment  of  prisoners 
to  win  them  over  to  Islam. 

One  man  only  is  said  to  have  determined  not  to 
swell  Mohammed's  treasury.  Abu  Sufyan,  now  the 
recognised  leader  at  Meccah,  instead  of  sending  a 
ransom  for  his  brother  whom  Ali  had  captured, 
waited  till  a  man  from  Medinah  came  to  Meccah  on 
pilgrimage ;  this  man  he  seized  and  exchanged  for 
his  brother.  The  whole  sum  which  Mohammed 
thus  acquired  was  probably  not  less  than  one  hund- 
red thousand  dirhems.  His  first  idea  was  to  claim 
the  whole  on  behalf  of  God  and  His  Prophet.  But 
he  was  induced  to  modify  this  claim.  Of  the  whole 
sum  taken,  God  and  His  Prophet  were  to  have  a 
fifth.  Each  captor  was  otherwise  to  have  the  ran- 
som of  his  prisoner.  It  is  stated  that  the  claim  to 
the  fifth  was  a  reduction  on  the  leader's  perquisite 
enjoyed  by  the  pre-Mohammedan  sovereigns.  They 
not  only  had  a  fourth  of  the  plunder,  but  also  cer- 
tain other  privileges  which  Mohammed  abandoned. 

The  news  of  the  defeat  was  brought  to  Meccah  by 
one  Haisuman  ;  the  scene  which  followed  on  the 

*  Musnad,  i.,  553. 
\Ibid.,'\s.y  83. 


The  Battle  of  Badr  2  73 

arrival  of  the  defeated  army  is  recorded  in  fragments 
only.  Some  perhaps  excused  their  flight  on  the 
ground  that  they  had  been  confronted  by  super- 
natural antagonists;  but  the  excuse  was  received 
with  derision  and  indignation.  Hind,  daughter  of 
'Utbah,  demanded  of  the  Hashimites  her  father, 
brother,  and  uncles,  whose  faces  were  wont  to  shine 
like  beacons  to  the  travellers  in  the  dark  night.* 
An  attempt  was  made  to  sequestrate  the  goods  be- 
longing to  the  Banu  Zuhrah  in  the  caravan  which 
Abu  Sufyan  had  saved :  but  their  leader  pointed 
out  that  Abu  Sufyan  himself  had  commanded  the 
Meccans  to  desist  from  the  expedition  against  Mo- 
hammed, and  they  had  in  returning  obeyed  his 
orders.  On  this  act  of  justice  therefore  he  did  not 
insist,  but  the  profit  made  by  the  expedition  and 
saved  from  the  enemy  was  devoted  to  the  equipment 
of  a  force  to  be  sent  against  Medinah.f  All  eyes 
apparently  now  looked  to  Abu  Sufyan  :  the  battle 
had  taken  off  the  stage  all  possible  rivals  to  his  in- 
fluence, while  inflicting  on  him  losses  which  he  was 
bound  as  a  man  of  honour  to  avenge.  And  indeed 
it  was  evident  that  on  the  ability  of  the  community 
to  avenge  their  losses  depended  not  only  their  hon- 
our but  their  very  existence.  The  ransom  money 
would  not  last  for  ever;  when  it  was  near  exhaustion 
Mohammed  would  be  ready  for  an  attack  on  the 
caravans,  and  find  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  helpers 
for  so  profitable  a  speculation. 

Numerous  verses  on  the  battle  of  Badr  are  given 

*  Ghurar  al-KhascCis%  200. 

f  Wakidi,  199. 
18 


2  74  Mohammed 

by  Ibn  Ishak  in  his  biography :  to  leave  the  fallen  at 
Badr  unmourned  would  have  doubtless  been  dis- 
respectful*; yet  the  genuineness  of  most  of  the 
dirges  produced  is  disputed  ;  some  may  have  really 
been  sung  on  the  occasion.  The  note  of  all  is  the 
same, — vengeance  cannot  be  delayed.  Another  time 
the  Meccans  will  show  to  greater  advantage.  It  will 
be  seen  whether  they  did  so.  Meanwhile  some 
poetic  talent  was  rising  in  Medinah  also,  since  a  war 
of  force  in  Arabia  would  have  been  incomplete 
without  a  war  of  rhymes  f ;  and  Abu  Bakr's  genea- 
logical knowledge  was  once  again  found  useful  in  the 
Prophet's  cause.  %  For  the  satirist,  though  not  scru- 
pulous in  his  statements,  still  had  to  be  supplied  with 
material  which  he  could  adorn  or  expand.  Just  as 
the  Refugees  were  suffering  from  Meccan  satire,  so 
versified  retorts  could  now  be  taught  the  slave-girls 
of  Medinah.  § 


*  Goldziher,   W.  Z.  K.  M.,  xvi.,  307. 
\Jd.,M.  .£,  i.,44- 
\  Zahr  al-adab^  i. ,  26. 
%Musnad,  iv.,  263. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PROGRESS    AND    A    SETBACK 

THE  herald  sent  on  by  Mohammed  to  announce 
his  victory  at  Medinah,  Abdallah,  son  of 
Rawahah,*  was  at  first  treated  as  a  liar— the 
sole  survivor  of  a  routed  host.  The  Jews,  whose  ill- 
luck  rarely  failed  them  on  such  occasions,  appear 
especially  to  have  enjoyed  a  short-lived  triumph. 
Many,  many  a  man  at  Medinah  utilised  the  day 
that  passed  between  the  arrival  of  the  herald  and 
the  triumphal  entry  of  Mohammed  to  curse  the  new 
ruler;  for  after  a  few  hours  it  would  be  unsafe.  Near 
the  end  of  Ramadan  he  entered  the  city,  preceded 
by  the  prisoners.  The  triumphant  rhapsody  which 
forms  the  8th  Surah  was  doubtless  delivered  at  a 
thanksgiving  service.  With  the  enthusiasm  of  one 
who  has  performed  a  successful  coup  in  a  new  ca- 
reer, he  dilated  on  the  glories  of  fighting;  and  argu- 
ing from  the  losses  on  either  side  declared  that  for 
purposes  of  war,  one  Moslem  was  equal  to  ten 
unbelievers. 

The  institution,  which  the  Greeks  called  tyranny, 


♦According  to  Ibn  Sa'J,  iii.,  38,  Zaid  Ibn  Harithah. 
2?5 


276  Mohammed 

seems  everywhere  to  produce  similar  effects.  Let 
one  man  be  given  absolute  and  uncontrolled  au- 
thority in  a  community,  a  number  of  parasites  are 
sure  to  arise,  ready  to  plunge  into  any  sort  of  mire 
in  the  hope  of  gaining  a  smile  from  their  mas- 
ter. Ramadan  was  not  over  before  this  breed  began 
to  show  itself.  If  any  one  had  incurred  the  Prophet's 
displeasure,  the  Prophet  could  be  served  by  that 
person's  assassination.  There  were  people  at  Me- 
dinah  who  gave  trouble  to  the  Prophet ;  the  sort 
whose  misfortune  it  is  that  they  are  unable  to  share 
the  aspirations  of  their  neighbours.  To  these  per- 
sons the  victory  of  Badr  was  not  so  much  a  triumph 
as  an  outrage.  The  slain  whom  the  conquerors  had 
left  on  the  field  were  their  fathers  and  brothers; 
those  whom  they  were  bringing  back  with  their 
hands  bound  and  tied  to  their  camels  were  their 
nearest  kin.  This  sort  of  triumph  shocked  those  in 
whom  the  old  humanity  had  not  been  killed  by  the 
new  religion.  Even  the  Prophet's  wife,  Saudah, 
asked  the  Kurashite  Sulaim,  when  he  was  brought  in, 
tied  and  bound,  why  he  could  not  have  died  like  a 
man?  The  wives  and  children  of  the  victors  are 
likely  to  have  re-echoed  these  sentiments,  and  a 
warning  was  revealed  against  them,  with  a  request, 
however,  not  to  punish  them  too  severely.*  In  the 
tribes  resident  at  Medinah  there  were  satirists  who 
expressed  their  opinions  freely  on  public  affairs.  The 
race  did  not  die  out  even  late  in  the  Caliphate  ;  but  in 
the  great  cities  of  later  times  they  were  not  detected 
quite  so  easily  and  their  satires  circulated  in  writing. 

*  Surah  lxiv.,  14. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  277 

At  Medinah  satires  may  indeed  have  been  written,* 
but  are  more  likely  to  have  been  declaimed  with  the 
normal  formalities ;  the  satirist  anointed  one  side  of 
his  hair,  let  his  mantle  droop,  and  wore  only  one  shoe.f 
'Asma,  daughter  of  Marwan,  the  wife  of  a  member 
of  the  tribe  Khatmah,  mother  of  five  sons,  had  the 
poetical  gift ;  she  taunted  the  people  of  Medinah 
with  obeying  a  stranger,  who  was  waiting  for  the 
city  "  to  be  done  brown,"  when  he  might  enjoy  the 
gravy ;  and  invited  some  one  to  nip  these  hopes  in 
the  bud.  Abu  'Afak,  a  member  of  the  tribe  'Amr 
Ibn  'Auf,  failed  to  see  that  the  Prophet's  arrival  had 
united  the  people  of  Medinah,  and  taunted  them 
with  being  divided  by  this  stranger  whose  notions  of 
right  and  wrong  were  quite  different  from  theirs. 
He  thought  that  if  they  believed  in  force  and 
tyranny,  they  had  better  have  obeyed  the  old  Kings 
of  Yemen.  Mohammed  expressed  a  wish  to  be  de- 
livered from  these  satirists,  and  a  couple  of  assassins 
readily  offered  their  services.  Both  were  run  through 
at  dead  of  night,  when  sleeping  peacefully  in  their 
homes,  and  the  assassins  publicly  applauded  and 
held  up  as  patterns  of  conduct.  %  These  executions 
were  perpetrated  in  the  week  immediately  following 
Badr.g  And  perhaps  about  the  same  time  'Umair, 
son  of  Umayyah,  finding  his  sister  by  the  seashore, 
killed  her  for  a  similar  offence.  | 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Prophet  there  would  have 

*  Goldziher,  Z.  D.  At.  £.,  xlvi.,  18. 

f  Ibid.,  5  ;   Abhandlungen,  i. 

\Ibn  Ishak  (pp.  995,  996)  puts  these  events  after  Uhud.  Ibn 
Duraid  gives  the  name  of  'Asma's  murderer  as  Ghishmir,  son  of 
Kharshah  (p.  265).  §  Wakidi.  |  Isabah,  iii. ,  56. 


278  Mohammed 

been  no  doubt  about  the  effect  of  these  acts.  The 
murderer's  life  would  have  been  forfeit  without 
question.  The  son  of  the  murdered  mother  would 
have  been  as  much  in  duty  bound  to  avenge  her 
death  as  ever  was  Orestes  to  avenge  his  father. 
The  tribesmen  of  the  old  poet  would  have  fallen  on 
the  first  member  of  the  murderer's  tribe  who  came 
in  their  way.  It  appears  that  in  ordinary  cases, 
even  apart  from  the  superstitions  connected  with 
blood,  the  filial  feeling  was  not  less  keen  among  the 
Arabs  than  among  other  races.  But  the  result  of 
these  executions  shows  how  well  Mohammed  under- 
stood the  people  among  whom  he  sojourned.  When 
the  slayer  of  the  woman  'Asma  asked  whether  he 
need  fear  the  consequences  of  what  he  had  done, 
the  Prophet,  coining  a  new  proverb,  told  him  that 
there  would  not  be  as  much  disturbance  about  it  as 
two  goats  can  make.  The  historians  tell  us  that  the 
tribes  of  the  murdered  persons  adopted  Islam  in  con- 
sequence. Translating  the  scene  into  modern  lan- 
guage, we  might  say  that  they  treated  the  acts  as 
legitimate  executions  ordered  by  the  sovereign 
power ;  which  they  found  it  beyond  their  power  to 
resist,  and  whose  protection  they  thought  it  expedi- 
ent to  enjoy.  Since,  if  the  verses  ascribed  to  'Asma 
be  genuine,  she  had  deliberately  incited  the  people 
of  Medinah  to  a  murderous  attack  on  the  Prophet, 
her  execution  would  not  have  been  an  inexcusably 
ruthless  measure,  judged  by  any  standard  ;  and  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  satire  was  a  far  more 
effective  weapon  in  Arabia   than  elsewhere  * ;  and 

*  Goldziher,  Abhandlungeny  i. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  279 

that  during  the  Caliphate  it  was  at  times  penalised.* 
The  employment  of  the  assassin  where  the  execu- 
tioner might  reasonably  have  been  employed  is  what 
excites  horror,  f  Mohammed  could  urge  that  in 
dealing  with  tribes  which  had  not  adopted  Islam  he 
had  no  executioners  at  his  disposal ;  that  discipline 
is  to  be  maintained  by  the  exhibition  of  power 
rather  than  of  authority.  Hente  the  dexterity 
manifested  in  the  selection  of  the  right  time  and 
the  right  agent  for  effecting  a  result  was,  in  a  partly 
organised  state,  the  only  possible  substitute  for  the 
legal  and  judicial  procedure  which  would  suit  a  com- 
pletely organised  state  ;  and  from  the  fact  that  only 
the  culprit  suffered,  it  was  a  decided  improvement 
on  the  existing  system,  by  which  satire  on  an  indi- 
vidual meant  war  between  whole  tribes.  The  prin- 
ciple that  each  person  shall  suffer  for  his  own  fault 
was  introduced  instead.  If  any  people  felt  horri- 
fied by  these  assassinations,  they  either  left  Medinah, 
or  kept  their  horror  for  private  conversations ;  but 
presently  criticism  of  the  Prophet  in  private  was 
condemned  in  a  revelation,  :f  and  True  Believers  who 
heard  such  communications  felt  it  their  duty  to 
inform  their  master. 

A  more  serious  step  had  to  be  taken  against  the 
Jews  (Banu  Kainuka)  who  inhabited  the  chief  market 
of  Medinah ;  said  to  be  three  hundred  men  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  and  four  hundred  unarmed.     They 


*Goldzihery  Z.  D.  M.  G.,  xlvi.,  19. 

f  Both  Muir  and  Sprenger  treat  these  acts  as  cold-blooded  and 
treacherous  murders. 
\  Surah  lviii.,  9. 


280  Mohammed 

were  goldsmiths,  and  doubtless  the  wealthiest  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Medinah.  They  had  pursued  the 
policy  of  aimless  irritation  which  has  already  been 
noticed.  Before  acknowledging  Mohammed  as  a 
prophet,  they  had  desired  a  miracle  in  the  style  of 
Elijah  on  Carmel.  The  Prophet,  in  the  pride  of  the 
victory  at  Badr,  had  stalked  into  their  market,  ask- 
ing if  they  were  satisfied ;  whether  the  miraculous 
multiplication  of  their  numbers  on  that  battle-field 
was  not  as  good  in  its  way  as  a  sacrifice  devoured  by 
heavenly  fire?  The  reply  is  stated  to  have  been 
a  good-humoured  sneer  at  the  cowardice  of  Mo- 
hammed's countrymen,  and  a  boast  of  what  they 
themselves  would  do  should  Mohammed  ever  fight 
with  them.  What  they  actually  did  was  to  shut 
their  doors  for  a  fortnight  and  then  surrender  at 
discretion.  Mohammed,  however,  probably  about 
this  time  began  to  challenge  the  Jews  to  be  eager 
for  death  if  they  believed  themselves  to  be  the 
chosen  of  God,  and  to  guarantee  that  they  would 
show  no  such  eagerness.  * 

About  a  month  after  the  Prophet's  return  from 
Badr,  f  a  dispute  broke  out  between  him  and  the 
Banu  Kainuka.  It  appears  to  have  commenced 
thus.  Ali's  share  of  the  booty  at  Badr  had  been 
two  camels.  Since  he  was  anxious  to  make  money 
in  order  to  marry  his  master's  daughter,  Fatimah, 
he  bethought  him  of  employing  his  camels  in  the 
export  trade,  and  some  of  the  Kainuka  Jews  agreed 
to  start  him.     They  were  to  supply  the  goods  which 

*  Surah  lxii.,  6. 
\Halabi,  ii.,  274. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  28 1 

Ali  was  to  sell  abroad,  bringing  back  others.  The 
camels  were  left  in  the  street  awaiting  their  load ; 
when  the  other  hero  of  Badr,  Hamzah,  passing  by, 
like  an  old  Arab  chieftain,  slaughtered  the  beasts, 
and  proceeded  to  give  a  banquet  off  them  to  his 
friends.  When  Ali,  arriving  on  the  scene,  perceived 
that  his  prospects  of  merchandise  and  marriage  were 
ruined,  he  went  to  Mohammed  to  complain.  The 
Prophet  came  to  the  carousers,  intending  to  remon- 
strate with  his  uncle,  who  by  this  time  was  so  drunk 
that  he  even  forgot  the  reverence  due  to  God's  Mes- 
senger. Surveying  the  Prophet  from  foot  to  head 
and  head  to  foot,  he  asked  him,  "  Are  you  not  my 
father's  slave?"  To  this  point  the  anecdote  rests 
on  unimpeachable  authority.*  A  few  more  steps  we 
must  ourselves  supply.  When  the  Jews  who  had 
promised  to  furnish  Ali  with  goods  for  exportation 
arrived,  they  found  the  beasts  that  should  have  been 
laden,  killed  and  eaten,  the  Lion  of  God  danger- 
ously intoxicated,  Ali  whining,  and  the  Prophet 
himself  seriously  ruffled.  Being  flesh  and  blood, 
they  expressed,  or  at  any  rate  looked,  contempt  and 
abhorrence  at  the  Holy  Family. 

The  complication  was  one  of  those  which  at  the 
time  are  exceedingly  serious,  though  afterwards 
they  appear  trifling.  Ali  and  Hamzah  were  both 
heroes  of  the  late  triumph  of  Badr ;  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  recoup  Ali  for  the  loss  of  his  booty  at  Ham- 
zah's  expense,  and  yet  most  undesirable  that  Ali 
should  lose  his  capital ;  it  was  also  undesirable  that 
Ali  should  go  on  commercial  travels  when  his  strong 

* Bokhari  (A'.),  ii.,  270;  Muslim,  ii.,  123. 


282  Mohammed 

arm  might  soon  be  again  needed.  The  marriage  of 
AH  and  Fatimah  was  also  desired  by  the  Prophet 
both  for  domestic  and  economic  reasons;  probably, 
too,  desired  by  Fatimah  herself,  whom  the  additions 
to  her  father's  harem  vexed.  The  revelations  de- 
nouncing the  Jews  had  by  this  time  prepared  the 
Moslems  for  an  attack  on  the  former;  and,  there- 
fore, the  plunder  of  their  shops  would  furnish  an 
easy  and  satisfactory  way  out  of  the  inconvenience 
occasioned  by  Hamzah's  excesses.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  finding  in  their  conduct  on  the  occasion 
that  has  been  described  something  that  would  form 
a  plausible  pretext  for  an  attack.  Nor  need  we 
doubt  that  the  Jews  had  been  excommunicating 
those  of  their  number  who  had  embraced  Moham- 
med's creed,  and  passing  ridicule  on  the  religious 
performances  of  the  Moslems.* 

The  disgraceful  conduct  of  Hamzah  suggested  one 
important  innovation  to  the  Prophet — the  abolition 
of  the  use  of  wine  and  other  intoxicating  liquors. 
Questions  on  this  subject  had  apparently  been  ad- 
dressed him  by  persons  who  were  aware  that  the 
practice  of  some  ascetics  forbade  their  use,  and  his 
first  answer  was  a  compromise,  in  which  he  declared 
that  the  uses  of  wine  (which  he  couples  with  the 
arrow-game)  were  considerable,  though  the  injury 
produced  thereby  was  great,  and  indeed  greater 
than  the  profit.  Apparently  the  disorderly  scene 
in  which  Hamzah  and  Ali  figured,  and  in  which  it  is 
likely  that  the  arrow-game  was  not  wanting,  led  him 


*  Wahidi%  148,  149. 


V* 


Progress  and  a  Setback  283 

presently  *  to  forbid  both  without  exception ;  and 
Ayeshah  remembered  how,  when  the  revelation 
which  dealt  with  them  was  delivered,  the  Prophet 
went  to  the  Mosque,  and  forbade  the  sale  of  liquor. 
According  to  one  account  f  due  notice  had  been 
given  to  the  owners  of  liquor  that  such  a  text  would 
be  revealed  and  they  were  advised  to  sell  it  while  they 
could  ;  but  when  the  revelation  came,  zealous  fol- 
lowers went  the  round  of  the  houses  of  the  Moslems 
and  emptied  their  vessels  of  all  liquor  which  was 
supposed  to  be  intoxicating,  in  many  cases  breaking 
the  vessels  themselves ;  and  trading  Moslems  who 
brought  wine  home  from  Syria  after  this  event  were 
compelled  to  pour  their  earnings  away:):;  nor  was 
milder  treatment  meted  out  to  those  orphans  whose 
property  had  been  invested  by  their  guardians  in 
wine.  The  prohibition  was  extended  to  vinegar 
made  of  wine,  and  a  categorical  denial  was  given  to 
the  suggestion  that  wine  had  medicinal  value  ;  there 
was  (he  was  by  this  time  convinced)  no  good  in  it  at 
all.  "All  possible  mischief  is  gathered  into  one 
chamber  and  locked  there ;  the  key  of  that  chamber 
is  drunkenness."  §  This  prohibition  probably  did 
the  Jewish  trade  some  harm,  since  the  making  of 
wine  (ordinarily  got  from  dates)  is  likely  to  have 
been  largely  in  their  hands.  It  was  also  a  trial  to 
the  faith  of  the  Moslems,  under  which  many  of  them 

*  The  date  is  uncertain.  An  account  represents  the  Prophet  drink- 
ing wine  just  before  the  battle  of  Uhud — Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  63.  So  too 
four  months  before  Uhud —  Wakidi  (  W.),  101. 

f  Jauzi,  Adhkiya,  14. 

\Musnad,  iv.,  336. 

§  Jahiz  Misers^  39, 


284  Mohammed 

sooner  or  later  broke  down.  But  the  Prophet  ap- 
pears at  no  other  time  to  have  been  the  victim  of 
drunken  insolence. 

The  altercation  with  the  Kainuka  probably  led 
directly  to  the  denunciation  of  the  treaty  and  an 
attack  on  the  dwellings  of  the  goldsmiths.  They 
appear  to  have  had  no  lands  or  fields;  but  their 
houses,  like  the  rest  of  those  in  Medinah,  were  so 
built  as  to  be  able  to  stand  a  siege.  The  Moham- 
medans declare  that  they  had  the  reputation  of 
being  the  most  courageous  of  the-  Jews,  and  their 
shops  were  filled  with  excellent  armour. 

At  the  blindness  of  the  other  Jewish  tribes,  who 
failed  to  help  their  brethren  at  this  crisis,  we  should 
marvel,  did  not  the  rest  of  the  history  of  those 
tribes  make  us  marvel  more.  The  chronicles  tell  us 
that  about  this  very  time  members  of  the  Banu 
Nadir  bethought  themselves  of  scheming  with  the 
Meccans,  but  of  any  attempt  at  aiding  the  Kainuka 
on  the  part  of  the  Jewish  tribes  there  is  no  sugges- 
tion, nor  does  any  appear  to  have  been  made.  Cer- 
tainly the  Kainuka  ought  by  themselves  to  have 
been  sufficient  in  numbers  to  deal  with  Mohammed 
and  his  three  hundred  followers,  but  their  brethren 
could  without  difficulty  have  brought  into  the  field 
a  force  four  times  in  number  that  with  which  he  was 
attacking.  The  Prophet  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  fear  of  death  was  with  these  people  an  over- 
powering motive ;  not,  it  would  seem,  more  over- 
powering than  the  attachment  to  that  religion  which 
has  brought  them  so  much  suffering;  but  one  which 
made  them  seek  peace  at  any  price,  except  that  of 


Progress  and  a  Setback  285 

acknowledging  the  Prophet.  This  explanation  of 
the  conduct  of  the  Jews  is  probably  correct ;  yet,  as 
the  Israelites  of  Medinah  left  no  Josephus,  posterity 
knows  very  little  of  the  causes  which  determined 
their  fate.  The  Koran  suggests*  in  one  place  that 
there  were  serious  internal  dissensions  in  the  Jewish 
colonies  ;  and  this  is  highly  probable.  Against  each 
other  they  were  courageous  enough,  but  they  could 
form  no  united  front. 

Of  their  two  allies,  'Ubadah  Ibn  Al-Samit,  the 
Ausite,  washed  his  hands  of  them  so  soon  as  the 
dispute  commenced.  The  other,  Abdallah,  son  of 
Ubayy,  leader  of  the  "  Hypocrites,"  was  more  loyal. 
He  remembered  (according  to  the  chroniclers)  that 
at  the  battles  which  preceded  the  coming  of  the 
Prophet  these  Jews  had  caused  his  life  to  be  spared. 
Had  he  had  any  policy,  this  was  certainly  the  time 
to  come  forward  with  it.  His  strong  objection  to 
bloodshed  prevented  him  from  attempting  a  diver- 
sion, but  when  the  Jews,  being  starved  out,  were  in 
danger  of  being  massacred  by  the  Prophet's  order, 
he  is  said  to  have  seized  the  Prophet  bodily  and 
refused  to  leave  hold  till  their  lives  had  been  guar- 
anteed. They  marched  off,  leaving  all  their  posses- 
sions, except,  it  would  appear,  their  mounts,  in  the 
direction  of  Syria,  being  kindly  treated  by  their 
kinsmen  in  Wadi  Al-Kura.  They  do  not  appear  to 
have  found  permanent  work  at  Adhri'at,  and  dis- 
persed or  perished,  f     Their  goods  were  treated  by 


*  Surah  lix.,  14. 

f  One  or  two  seem  to  have  contrived  to  stay  in  Medinah,  since 
we  hear  of  Rafa'ah,  son  of  Zaid,  a  member  of  this  tribe,  being  the 


286  Mohammed 

the  Prophet  as  the  spoils  of  war.  He  took  his  fifth, 
and  divided  the  rest  among  his  followers.  The 
houses  and  property  of  seven  hundred  of  the  wealth- 
iest of  the  community  doubtless  made  the  Moslems 
comparatively  opulent.  AH  could  now  provide  the 
necessary  wedding-gift  for  his  bride  Fatimah,  and 
the  auspicious  ceremony  was  performed. 

There  is  no  moral  to  be  drawn  from  the  fate  of 
the  Kainuka  except  the  uselessness  of  superior 
knowledge  unless  it  produce  the  means  of  self-de- 
fence, and  be  combined  with  courage.  At  a  later 
period  of  Islam  the  banishment  and  plunder  of 
an  industrious  section  of  the  community  would 
have  been  highly  impolitic  besides  being  criminal. 
At  this  period  it  is  not  clear  that  it  was  impolitic. 
Many  towns  and  countries  remained  to  be  plundered 
before  the  Moslems  could  be  compelled  to  work.    - 

The  banishment  of  the  Banu  Kainuka  apparently 
led  the  other  Jewish  tribes  to  reflect  on  the  fate 
that  was  in  store  for  them.  It  did  not  move  them 
to  any  act  of  courage,  but  one  of  their  number, 
Ka'b,  son  of  Al-Ashraf,  a  Nadirite,  went  to  Meccah 
to  urge  on  the  Meccans  to  come  quickly.  This  man 
had  a  high  reputation  as  a  poet.  The  critic  Kuda- 
mah*  quotes  some  of  his  verses  as  models  of  style. 
What  passed  between  Ka'b  and  the  Meccans  is  not 
known ;  we  can  only  imagine  that  his  purpose  was 
to  arrange  for  some  united  action  between  the  dis- 


rallying-point  of  the  disaffected  party  as  late  as  the  year  5,  and  of 
another,  Zaid  Ibn  Al-Lukaib,  taking  part  in  an  expedition  in  the 
year  9 .      Wakidi  (fV.),  398 . 
*  Nakdal-ShVr,  11. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  287 

affected  in  Medinah  and  the  Meccans  when  the  in- 
vasion should  take  place.  But  Mohammed,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  ways  of  learning  what  took  place  in 
Meccah ;  by  employing  his  court  poet  Hassan,  son 
of  Thabit,  to  satirise  Ka'b's  hosts  at  Meccah,  he  rend- 
ered the  place  too  hot  to  hold  him*;  and  when  the 
man  returned,  Mohammed  determined  that  he  should 
be  slain. 

If  there  be  any  truth  in  the  story  of  his  assassina- 
tion, it  must  have  happened  somewhat  differently 
from  the  mode  described.  The  biographers  make  Mo- 
hammed publicly  demand  to  be  relieved  of  Ka'b,  son 
of  Al-Ashraf;  whereat  Mohammed,  son  of  Maslamah, 
otherwise  known  as  a  libertine,  f  having  ascertained 
that  the  Prophet  desired  his  assassination,  undertakes 
to  do  the  deed  ;  four  other  Medinese  join  him,  and  ob- 
tain permission  from  the  Prophet  to  lie  to  the  victim. 
The  five  Medinese  come  and  complain  to  Ka'b  of 
the  poverty  in  which  Mohammed's  enterprise  had 
landed  them,  and  request  from  him  a  loan  of  food 
for  which  they  offer  to  pledge  their  arms.  They 
return  at  night,  at  an  appointed  time,  which  however 
Ka'b  has  so  far  forgotten  as  to  be  asleep  with  his 
bride.  Instead  of  depositing  their  arms  and  taking 
the  food,  they  take  him  out  with  them  on  the  pre- 
text of  wishing  to  hold  a  nightly  conversation  :  and 
when  they  have  got  some  distance  fall  upon  him  and 
murder  him.  One  account  increases  the  horror  by 
making  two  of  the  assassins  Ka'b's  foster-brothers, 
which  occasions  the  question  to  be  asked,  How  came 

*iVakidi(lV.),  96. 
f  Musnady  iv.,  225. 


288  Mohammed 

a  Jew  to  be  foster-brother  of  two  of  the  Medinese  ? 
But  we  cannot  believe  that  the  purchasing  of  food 
against  a  deposit  would  be  an  act  requiring  any 
secrecy,  and  unless  the  story  of  the  night  attack 
be  an  invention,  must  suppose  that  Ka'b  had  been 
summoned  out  with  the  ostensible  view  of  making  a 
night  attack  on  Mohammed :  an  enterprise  to  which 
the  perfidy  of  his  companions  gave  an  unexpected 
direction. 

Our  authors  proceed  to  make  the  Prophet  declare 
the  Jews  outlawed,  giving  any  Moslem  who  found  one 
the  right  to  kill  him.  Of  this  right  a  certain  Khaz- 
rajite,  Mahisah,  is  supposed  to  have  availed  himself, 
to  kill  a  Jew  named  Ibn  Subainah,  from  whom  he 
had  experienced  much  kindness ;  an  act  which  so 
impressed  his  brother  with  the  sublimity  of  Islam 
that  he  immediately  became  a  Moslem : — we  might 
rather  see  in  this  conversion  the  feeling  of  the 
futility  of  resistance  to  a  system  which  recognised 
no  moral  obligations  when  they  opposed  its  progress. 
But  if  the  Jews  were  really  declared  outlawed,  some 
ostensible  reason  must  have  been  given  for  such  an 
order :  and  the  conspiracy  of  Ka'b  would  furnish  an 
adequate  ground  for  it.  Without  fresh  orders  from 
the  Prophet  the  Jews  could  not  have  continued  to 
remain  in  Medinah.* 

For  a  whole  year  after  the  battle  of  Badr  the  Pro- 
phet's power  kept  on  increasing  and  fortune  con- 
tinued favourable.      Partly  by  conquest  and  partly 


*  The  "  Sawik  expedition"  which  is  put  here  is  omitted,  because 
the  name  is  given  to  another  expedition,  and  there  are  other  improb- 
abilities connected  with  the  story. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  289 

by  treaty  the  country  which  lay  between  Medinah 
and  Meccah  towards  the  coast  had  been  won  to  the 
Prophet's  side  :  and  a  Prophet  who  went  in  for  cattle- 
stealing  probably  seemed  to  most  of  the  tribesmen 
a  very  worthy  character.  The  growing  wealth  of 
Medinah  also  attracted  marauders,  but  these  had  no 
chance  against  the  Prophet's  disciplined  forces. 

The  Meccans  had  therefore  to  bethink  them  of  a 
new  road  for  their  caravans,  unless  they  were  to  be 
starved  out ;  and  it  was  discovered  that  it  was  pos- 
sible in  winter  to  work  eastwards  to  the  Euphrates 
Valley,  the  want  of  water  which  renders  the 
Nefud  impassable  in  summer  being  at  that  season 
less  of  an  obstacle.  A  guide  was  engaged  and  a 
heavily  laden  caravan  despatched  in  December. 
News  of  it  was  brought  to  Medinah  by  a  Meccan 
who  went  to  a  feast  given  by  one  of  the  Nadirites, 
and  who  became  communicative  in  his  cups.  A 
follower  of  the  Prophet  who  was  present  immedi- 
ately told  his  master,  who  sent  an  expedition  to 
catch  the  convoy :  the  Prophet's  adopted  son,  Zaid 
Ibn  Harithah,  was  made  captain.  He  was  com- 
pletely successful,  and  came  near  capturing  Abu 
Sufyan  himself.  The  property  seized  is  said  to  have 
been  of  the  value  of  100,000  dirhems. 

This  accession  of  wealth  enabled  the  Prophet  to 

add   to  his   harem,  which   now   began   to   assume 

princely  dimensions.      He  further  gave  Othman  his 

daughter  Umm  Kulthum,  as  a  substitute  for  Rukay- 

yah,  who  died  during  the  battle  of  Badr.     About  the 

same  time  occurred  another  domestic  event,  which 

culminated   the    Prophet's  joy — the    birth   of    his 
19 


290  Mohammecc 

grandson  Hasan,  son  of  Ali  and  Fatimah.  On  the 
seventh  day  he  was  named  and  circumcised,  his  head 
shorn,  and  a  ram  sacrificed  for  him.  Al-Hasan,  "  the 
beautiful,"  is  said  to  have  been  then  first  used  as  a 
proper  name :  in  giving  it  his  grandson  the  Pro- 
phet fancied  he  was  translating  the  name  of  a  son  of 
Aaron.* 

Thus  after  little  more  than  two  years  at  Medinah, 
Mohammed  and  his  followers  found  themselves  in 
possession  of  wealth,  power,  and  domestic  happi- 
ness. The  Prophet  could  begin  to  entertain  projects 
of  conquest  on  a  great  scale :  the  horizon  began  de- 
finitely to  expand.  There  were,  however,  to  be  still 
some  setbacks. 

Rather  more  than  a  year  after  the  victory  of  Badr, 
while  Mohammed  and  his  family  were  in  the  midst 
of  their  domestic  joys,  the  news  arrived  at  Medinah 
that  a  well-equipped  force,  thrice  the  size  of  that 
which  had  been  defeated  at  Badr,  was  on  its  way  to 
retrieve  that  misfortune.  Abu  Sufyan  had,  it  would 
appear,  risen  to  the  occasion  ;  he  had  persuaded  his 
fellow-townsmen  to  devote  to  preparation  the  whole 
of  the  profit  which  he  had  brought  safely  home  at  the 
time  of  Badr ;  he  had  some  allies  in  the  coast-tribes 
and  the  Kinanah ;  and  he  had  pressed  into  the  serv- 
ice such  poetical  talent  as  was  at  Meccah.  He  had 
been  joined  by  an  influential  man  from  Medinah, 
Abu  'Amir,  "  the  monk,"  the  Ausite  who  before 
Mohammed's   arrival  had  manifested  a  disposition 


*  He  is  sometimes  called  by  his  Syriac  name — Mez,  Baghdader 
Siltenbild,  5.  Mez  regards  the  connection  with  Aaron  as  Shi'ite  in- 
vention. 


ARAB  WOMAN  ATTENDING  WOUNDED  MAN. 
From  Mayeux's  Bedouins. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  291 

towards  reformed  religion,  but  whom  a  little  of 
Mohammed  had  convinced  of  the  superiority  of 
paganism ;  he  is  said  to  have  brought  fifty  fol- 
lowers with  him.**  Abu  Sufyan  appears  to  have 
done  his  best ;  and,  as  a  substitute  for  military 
music,  caused  or  permitted  the  army  to  be  followed 
by  a  company  of  ladies,  who,  by  threatening  and 
promising,  reciting  verses,  and  beating  drums,  were 
to  keep  the  courage  of  the  troops  to  its  proper  level ; 
for  nothing  did  the  refugee  from  the  battle-field 
dread  more  than  the  reproaches  of  his  women-folk.f 
Besides,  they  could  tend  the  wounded,  and  stitch  the 
water-skins."]:  In  Beckwourth's  wars  the  women  were 
in  charge  of  the  horses  that  were  not  being  ridden, 
and  brought  fresh  ones  to  the  warriors  when  re- 
quested^ The  Kurashite  ladies  may  have  had  some 
similar  duty,  and  some  certainly  did  curious  serv- 
ice. The  wife  of  Abu  Sufyan  made  the  suggestion 
that  the  body  of  Mohammed's  mother  should  be  ex- 
humed and  kept  as  a  hostage ;  but  the  Kuraish  re- 
jected this  suggestion  (of  which  the  practicability  was 
surely  doubtful)  for  fear  of  reprisals.  One  of  them, 
\Amrah,  wife  of  Ghurab,  raised  up  the  Kurashite 
standard  when  it  had  fallen,  and  enabled  the  Ku- 
raish to  rally  to  it.  Others,  it  is  said,  helped  the 
actual  carnage,  and  were  spared  by  chivalrous  Mos- 
lems, who  would  not  dishonour  their  swords  by  strik- 
ing women.     Before  the  rout,  stationed  behind  the 

*  Wakidi,  205. 

f  Wellhaustn,  Ehe,  451. 

%  Ibid.,    Wakidi,  283. 

§  Autobiography,  158,  etc. 


292  Mohammed 

troops,  they  encouraged  acts  of  valour,  and  launched 
reproaches  against  those  who  showed  any  disposition 
to,  flee. 

•Where  the  history  of  a  defeat  is  told  by  the  de- 
feated, so  many  are  interested  in  misrepresenting 
what  occurred  that  it  is  difficult  to  disentangle  the 
truth.  Mohammed  was  defeated  at  Uhud — of  that 
there  is  no  question.  Since  a  Prophet  could  do  no 
wrong,  the  blame  for  that  defeat  could  not  be  his; 
hence  at  two  stages  of  the  story  the  Prophet's  fol- 
lowers are  said  to  have  disobeyed  him,  and  so  brought 
on  the  disaster. 

It  is  said  that  the  Kurashite  army  appeared  on 
the  west  of  Medinah,  on  a  mountain  called  'Ainain, 
"  the  two  wells,"  and  proceeded  to  send  their  cattle 
to  feed  in  the  fields  of  some  Medinese,  at  a  place 
called  'Uraid.  Mohammed  summoned  his  followers 
to  attack,  promising  them  the  aid  of  five  thousand 
angels,  a  promise,  he  had  afterwards  to  explain,  in- 
tended as  an  encouragement,  not  to  be  literally  ful- 
filled. Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy,  always  cautious,  advised 
the  Medinese  to  stay  in  the  city,  and  wait  till  the 
Meccans  thought  fit  to  go  away ;  believing  that  an 
assault  on  Medinah  would  either  not  be  attempted, 
or,  if  attempted,  could  easily  be  repelled.  Moham- 
med had  not  yet  the  experience  which  would 
have  shown  him  the  wisdom  of  this  counsel ;  he 
doubtless  expected  a  second  Badr,  and  determined 
to  save  the  crops.  He  called  to  arms,  and  of  those 
who  assembled  about  one  thousand  were  passed. 

At  a  later  time  Mohammed  was  represented  as 
advising    the    Moslems    to    stay    in    Medinah,    but 


Progress  a?id  a  Setback  293 

afterward  suffering  his  hands  to  be  forced  by  the 
more  eager  and  ardent  of  his  followers.  He  also  had 
revealed  to  him  in  a  dream  exactly  what  was  about  to 
occur — even  to  such  details  as  the  death  of  his  uncle. 
The  leading  article  on  the  battle  of  Uhud — Surah  iii. 
— proves  this  statement  to  be  unhistorical ;  and  in 
the  description  of  the  fight  which  is  professedly  by 
the  court  poet,  Ka'b  Ibn  Malik,*  the  Prophet  is  re- 
presented as  from  the  first  urging  his  followers  to 
fight.  From  the  same  authentic  source  we  are  able 
to  modify  the  account  of  another  incident  which  was 
supposed  to  alleviate  the  shame  of  defeat — the  sup- 
posed desertion  of  Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy.  When  the 
Moslem  army  got  half-way  between  Medinah  and 
Uhud,  the  biographers  tells  us,  Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy 
deserted  with  three  hundred  followers,  thus  reducing 
the  force  by  a  third.  But  the  Koran  says  two  par- 
ties (supposed  to  be  the  tribes  Banu  Salamah  f  and 
Banu  Harithah),  whose  fields  had  been  wasted  by  the 
invaders, \  meditated  cowardice;  implying  that  the 
courageous  language  of  the  Prophet  braced  them  up ; 
and,  indeed,  many  members  of  those  tribes  were 
known  to  have  fought  at  Uhud  ;  and  from  the  text  § 
we  may  justly  infer  that  Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy, 
simply  stayed  at  home — did  not  desert  after  the 
expedition  had  started.  Hence  the  incident  of  Ab- 
dallah's  desertion  was  magnified  at  a  later  time  ;  nor, 


*  Iskak,  614. 
t  Wakidi,  207. 

%  They  had  at  one  time  begged  leave  to  change  their  residence  and 
come  near  the  Mosque.    Musnad,  iii.,  371. 
§  Verses  162-167. 


294  Mohammed 

from  what  we  read,  does  he  appear  to  have  enjoyed 
sufficient  influence  to  have  effected  such  a  desertion. 

Uhud,  the  mountain  which  gives  its  name  to  the 
battle,  lies  to  the  north-west  of  Medinah,  "  forming 
part  of  the  great  chain,  whence  it  breaks  off  into 
the  plain  in  such  a  way  that  it  is  almost  isolated  "*; 
its  whole  length  from  west  to  east  is  about  four 
miles.f  Its  distance  from  Medinah  is  variously 
given  as  two  thirds  or  three  quarters  of  an  hour;  but 
this  refers  to  a  time  when  a  broad  road  led  from  Me- 
dinah to  Uhud,  which  is  visited  by  every  pilgrim, 
and  by  pious  Medinese  on  Thursdays.  In  Moham- 
med's time  there  was  no  such  road,  and  even  for  that 
short  distance  a  guide  was  required  ;  the  Prophet's 
purpose  being  to  secure  the  shelter  of  Mount  Uhud 
for  his  rear,  and  to  reach  this  position  without  being 
seen  and  surrounded  by  the  Kuraish.  He  took 
great  pains  to  make  the  troops  fall  into  line,  remem- 
bering how  effective  this  precaution  had  been  at 
Badr.J 

He  wound  up  the  courage  of  his  followers  by  an 
oration,  recorded  or  imagined  by  Wakidi,  in  which 
he  utilised  the  ordinary  topics  which  provide  material 
for  harangues  on  such  occasions,  adding  a  little  more 
than  a  commonplace  general  can  urge,  of  his  con- 
sciousness of  being  the  channel  through  which 
God's  commands  and  prohibitions  were  conveyed 
to  mankind,  and  of   having  explained  to  them  ex- 


*  Burckhardt,  ii.,  104. 
f  Ibid.,  ii.,  107. 

\  The  date  of  the  battle  of  Uhud  is  given  as  Saturday,  7  Shawwal, 
a.h.  3  =  March  24,  a.d.  625. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  295 

haustively  everything  that  God  either  required  or 
disapproved. 

A  way  was  found  through  the  "  Harrah  of  the 
Banu  Harithah,"  amid  date  plantations,  the  blind 
owner  of  which  is  said  to  have  played  the  part  of 
Shimei,  and  pelted  the  Moslems  with  mud.  The 
Prophet's  force,  however,  succeeded  in  reaching 
Uhud  before  the  Kurashites  had  perceived  their 
tactics.  To  the  east  the  mountain  'Ainain  over- 
looks the  path  by  which  the  Moslem  position  could 
be  turned;  there  Mohammed  placed  a  detachment 
of  fifty  archers,  it  was  said  (perhaps  after  the  event), 
under  strict  orders  to  remain  there  till  they  were 
told  to  come  down.  The  Kurashites  were  stationed 
in  the  low  ground  of  the  Wadi  called  Kanat  (or  the 
channel),  which  separates  Medinah  from  Uhud.  The 
ground  has  been  greatly  altered  since  the  Prophet's 
time  by  flood  and  earthquake,*  whence  the  descrip- 
tions of  modern  visitors  are  of  only  partial  help  for 
understanding  the  situation.  What  is  clear  is  that 
the  Prophet  secured  a  strong  position,  but  in  doing 
so  had  placed  the  Kurashites  between  his  army  and 
Medinah.  He  assumed  that  the  enemy  would  not 
attack  the  city,  and  the  event  showed  that  he  had 
calculated  rightly.  He  assumed  that  the  disaster  of 
Badr  would  have  taught  the  Kuraish  nothing  ;  and 
that  the  valour  of  Hamzah,  Ali,  and  a  few  others 
would  produce  a  panic  as  before.  On  the  other  hand 
he  was  not  aware  that  the  ground  had,  at  the  instance 
of  Abu  'Amir,  "  the  monk,"  been  dug  so  as  to  injure 
the  Moslems. 


*  Samhudi,  20. 


296  Mohammed 

The  fight  began,  it  is  said,  by  this  Medinese  exile, 
Abu  'Amir,  presenting  himself  to  his  relatives  the 
Aus,  with  the  expectation  that  they  would  troop 
over  to  him  at  once.  How  many  an  exile  has 
similarly  mistaken  his  value !  His  brethren  an- 
swered his  advances  with  reproaches  and  contempt. 

It  appears,  too,  that  at  the  commencement  events 
were  going  as  the  Prophet  had  imagined.  The 
champions  of  Badr,  Ali  and  Hamzah,  dealt  out 
death  as  unsparingly  as  before ;  the  heroism  of  the 
Kuraish  compelled  them  to  meet  these  champions  in 
a  series  of  single  combats,  in  which  their  own  cham- 
pions were  killed,  and  their  overthrow  spread  discom- 
fiture and  panic.  Wakidi  gives  a  list  of  the  persons 
who  successively  took  the  Kurashite  standard  :  it 
passed  through  the  hands  of  seven  men  of  the 
family  Abd  al-dar,  each  of  whom  was  in  turn  slain 
by  a  Moslem :  no  one  attempted  to  co-operate  with 
the  standard-bearer,  who  was  simply  left  to  his  fate  ; 
in  one  case  the  brave  comrades,  who  had  done 
nothing  to  protect  his  life,  succeeded  in  saving  the 
spoils.  As  we  picture  the  scene,  the  standard-bearer 
probably  was  in  advance  of  the  line,  and,  his  hands 
being  incommoded  by  the  standard,  furnished  an 
easy  victim  to  any  champion  who  chose  to  rush  on 
him  from  the  enemy's  side.  The  Moslem  standard 
was  not  allowed  to  court  destruction  in  the  same 
way.  Hamzah,  however,  was  killed  by  an  Abys- 
sinian slave,  who  had  practised  throwing  the  lance; 
and  who,  having  done  his  side  this  very  considerable 
service,  resolved  to  take  no  further  part  in  the  fray, 
lest  he  should  never  enjoy  the   liberty   which  had 


Progress  and  a  Setback  297 

been  promised  him  as  the  reward  of  success.  After 
the  death  of  a  few  standard-bearers  and  champions 
the  Meccan  army  turned  to  fly,  leaving  their  camp 
to  the  enemy,  who  proceeded  to  pillage  it  in  disorder. 
The  women  dropped  their  drums  and  rushed  towards 
the  hill :  many  who  were  less  agile  yielded  them- 
selves captive  to  the  Moslems.*  Abu  Sufyan  him- 
self  narrowly  escaped  death.  The  archers  who  had 
been  posted  to  protect  the  Moslem  rear  came  down 
to  join  in  the  plunder;  and  this  gave  Khalid,  son  of 
Al-Walid,  afterwards  a  doughty  captain  of  Islam, 
the  chance  of  a  descent  with  his  cavalry  on  Mo- 
hammed's rear  ;  this  diversion  checked  the  rout,  and 
the  Moslems  found  themselves  caught  between  two 
fires.  Discipline  could  not  be  restored,  nor  was 
it  easy  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  Some  of 
the  riders  saw  that  the  important  matter  was  to 
kill  Mohammed,  and  a  whole  series  of  martyrs 
threw  themselves  in  front  of  him  till  a  rescue 
party  came ;  though  even  so  they  could  not  pre- 
vent his  suffering  some  slight  wounds  about  the 
face  and  head:  treatment  which  naturally  seemed 
shocking  in  the  last  degree  to  the  man  who  had 
already  shed  no  little  blood  for  his  ideal.  The 
Prophet  also  appears  to  have  done  what  he  did  on 
no  other  occasion — take  to  weapons  and  fight  for 
himself  (even  to  the  extent  of  killing  a  man),  besides 
letting  men  and  women  fight  for  him,  and,  indeed, 
offering  a  place  beside  himself  in  Paradise  to  any 
one  who  kept   the  enemy   off  his  person.f      The 

*Halabi. 
\Musnad,  iii.,  286. 


298  Mohammed 

Prophet  is  said  to  have  owed  his  life  to  his  resem- 
blance to  Mus'ab,  son  of  'Umair,  whom  Ibn  'Kami'ah 
mistook  for  him  * ;  Ibn  Kami'ah,  having  slain 
Mus'ab,  fancied  that  he  had  achieved  a  stroke  which 
would  have  ended  the  war.  The  cry  that  the  Pro- 
phet had  been  killed  was  soon  heard,  and  if,  as  was 
said,  Satan  uttered  it,  his  object  must  have  been  to 
save  Islam  rather  than  ruin  it ;  for  while  it  dis- 
couraged many  of  Mohammed's  followers,  it  roused 
to  desperate  valour  many  others  who  were  too  deeply 
committed  to  Islam  to  care  for  life  after  a  crushing 
defeat ;  while  the  conquerors,  who  bore  no  sort  of 
ill-will  to  Mohammed's  followers,  supposing  their 
chief  business  had  been  accomplished,  cared  less  to 
proceed.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  the  cry,  "  Mo- 
hammed is  slain,"  saved  Mohammed  and  his  cause ; 
and  indeed  the  Prophet,  who  asserts  that  he  tried  to 
stop  the  flight,  was  shrewd  enough,  amid  his  wounds, 
to  perceive  the  advantage  of  the  false  rumour  being 
circulated.  The  doughty  Ali  with  other  brave  men 
finding  him,  huddled  him  into  a  ravine,  where  he 
could  be  tended  while  the  supposition  that  he  was 
killed  might  be  left  to  do  its  work.  He  even  changed 
armour  with  one  of  his  followers  that  he  might  es- 
cape recognition  if  found  in  his  hiding-place.f  Ibn 
Kami'ah  assured  Abu  Sufyan  that  Mohammed  had 
fallen  by  his  hand,  and  this  assertion  was  accepted  by 
the  commander,  till  having  time  to  search  the  battle- 
field with  Abu  'Amir  he  found  the  story  unconfirmed. 
Had  the  Kurashite  army  preserved  their  original 

*  Diyarbekri,  i.,  483. 
f  IVakidi,  233. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  299 

position  between  Medinah  and  the  Moslems,  the  lat- 
ter must  have  been  destroyed  to  a  man,  when  the  rout 
began  ;  but  the  first  part  of  the  battle  had  cleared 
away  those  who  had  their  backs  to  Medinah,  and 
thither,  as  well  as  in  other  directions,  therefore  the 
defeated  Moslems  could  escape.  The  names  of  the 
fugitives  are  not  all  preserved  :  among  them,  however, 
figures  Sa'd,  son  of  Mu'adh,*  destined  erelong  to 
wash  out  this  stain  with  Jewish  blood  ;  Anas,  son  of 
Nadir,  tried  to  make  him  return  to  the  field,  but 
vainly.  Another  against  whom  the  charge  of  flight 
from  the  battle-field  was  afterwards  brought  was  the 
Prophet's  son-in-law  Othman,  son  of  'Affan,  who  had 
also  the  year  before  found  in  his  wife's  illness  an  ex- 
cuse for  absenting  himself  from  Badr.  The  first  of 
the  runaways  brought  to  Medinah  the  news  of  the 
Prophet's  death,  which,  however,  seems  to  have 
gained  little  credence;  and  fresh  arrivals  from  the 
battle-field  soon  contradicted  it. 

Flight  was  doubtless  facilitated  by  nightfall,  when 
pursuit  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  would  have 
been  dangerous.  But  while  the  Prophet  was  in 
hiding  considerable  carnage  continued,  and  though 
fine  tales  were  afterwards  invented  of  the  courage 
displayed  on  this  occasion  by  faithful  followers  of 
the  Prophet,  others  describe  them  as  having  become 
wholly  disorganised.  Of  all  the  plunder  secured  in 
the  assault  on  the  Kurashite  camp  only  two  men  re- 
tained any ;  two  purses  of  gold  secreted  by  two  men 
of  Medinah  were  the  sole  relic  of  this  initial  victory. 
Of  the  persons  who  fell  in  the  slaughter,  some  plainly 

* Musnad,  iii.,  253. 


300  Mohammed 

declared  that  they  were  not  righting  for  Islam,  but  for 
Medinah ;  while  others,  it  is  said,  had  come  out  to 
battle  in  the  hope  that  they  might  win  martyrdom, 
and  had  received  the  Prophet's  blessing  on  their 
purpose.  One  Moslem  at  least  seems  to  have  made 
use  of  the  confusion  to  wreak  on  a  fellow-Moslem 
vengeance  dating  from  a  pre-Islamic  blood-feud  ;  for 
which  he  was  afterwards  executed  by  Mohammed.* 
The  deaths  on  the  side  of  the  Kurashites  amounted 
to  twenty-two ;  those  of  the  Moslems  to  seventy — 
exactly  the  number  of  the  victims  of  Badr;  to  these 
one  account,  which  is  likely  to  be  correct,  adds  seventy 
wounded, f  among  whom  Abu  Bakr,  Omar,  and  Ali 
figured ;  and  indeed  we  cannot  suppose  that  these 
champions  escaped  scot  free,  or  that  the  number  of 
wounded  was  not  proportioned  to  that  of  slain.  De- 
tailed accounts,  true  or  imaginary,  are  preserved  of 
most  of  the  contests  in  which  the  Kurashites  perished; 
the  slaughter  of  a  Moslem  came  presently  to  be  an 
inglorious  souvenir,  and  the  acts  of  prowess  which 
ended  thus  were  allowed  to  fall  into  obscurity.  The 
Kuraish  appear  to  have  made  no  prisoners.  We  need 
scarcely  doubt  that  the  discovery  of  seventy  corpses 
on  the  field  was  what  moved  the  Kurashite  general  to 
mistake  his  victory  for  a  conquest,  and  depart  without 
delay.J  For  each  victim  at  Badr  the  equivalent  life 
had  been  paid ;  the  people  of  Meccah  and  Medinah 
were  now  quits  ;  and  presently  one  (ordinarily  ener- 


*  Wakidi  ( W.\  140. 
f  Diyarbekri,  i.,  482. 

%  So  in  Ibn  Sad  II,  ii.,  78,  a  Kurashite  declares  himself  satisfied, 
having  killed  an  equal  number  of  the  foe. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  301 

getic)  Meccan  discouraged  following  up  the  victory 
on  the  ground  that  last  year  the  Moslems  had  not 
followed  up  theirs.*  So  little  did  these  Meccans 
understand  what  warfare  meant.  Savage  cruelty 
was  wreaked  on  some  of  the  corpses  by  the  women, 
whose  desire  for  vengeance  was  a  deep-seated  passion 
rather  than  respect  for  tribal  usage;  but  it  seems 
clear  that  the  Meccans  were  absolutely  innocent  of 
what  is  now  called  imperialism,  and,  having  satisfied 
the  demands  of  honour,  were  anxious  to  resume  the 
occupations  of  peace.  The  Medinese,  when  their 
retreat  had  been  effected,  fully  expected  an  attack 
on  their  city,  and  steps  were  taken  to  guard  the 
house  whither  the  wounded  Prophet  had  been  carried; 
but  Abu  Sufyan  contemplated  no  such  measure,  and 
his  forces,  mounting  their  camels  and  leading  their 
horses,  were  shortly  seen  to  be  departing.  Omar  is 
said,  at  the  Prophet's  request,  to  have  answered  the 
Kurashite  thanksgiving  to  Hobal  with  an  ascription 
of  praise  to  Allah ;  and  having  assured  Abu  Sufyan 
of  the  survival  and  safety  of  Mohammed,  to  have 
made  an  appointment  (in  the  style  of  the  Fijar  wars) 
for  a  renewal  of  hostilities  the  following  year  at 
Badr. 

At  nightfall  then,  it  would  appear,  the  army  of 
Abu  Sufyan  commenced  its  departure  from  the 
battle-field  ;  and  by  the  next  morning  news  reached 
the  Prophet  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  Medinah 
being  attacked.  Notwithstanding  his  wounds  the 
Prophet  succeeded  in  mounting  his  horse,  and  even 
persuaded  his  followers,  in  spite  of  the  effects  of  the 

*  Wakidi  (  W.),  138 


302  Mohammed 

previous  day's  disaster,  to  accompany  him  in  a  demon- 
stration as  far  as  Hamra  al-Usd,  about  twelve  miles 
from  Medinah,  in  the  direction  which  the  Meccans  had 
taken.  Meanwhile  the  Meccans  had  reached  Rauha 
and  are  there  said  to  have  become  awake  to  the  folly 
of  leaving  their  work  unfinished,  and  to  have  begun 
to  consider  the  advisability  of  returning  to  attack 
Medinah.  They  were  deterred  from  this  by  the  coun- 
sel of  Safwan,  son  of  Umayyah,  whose  father  had 
perished  at  Badr,  who  warned  them  of  the  danger  of 
bringing  the  heroes  of  that  fight  to  bay.  And  the 
chief  of  one  of  the  local  tribes  is  said  to  have  done 
Mohammed  the  service  of  conveying  to  the  Kuraish 
an  exaggerated  account  of  the  army  of  reserves  still 
at  Mohammed's  disposal,  which  Mohammed  arti- 
ficially confirmed  by  causing  camp-fires  to  be  lit  at 
night  over  an  immense  area.  The  operations  of  this 
day  resulted  in  the  capture  of  two  men  on  either 
side.  Mohammed  remained  in  the  field  five  days,  on 
the  chance  of  the  Meccans  changing  their  plans,  and 
returned  to  Medinah  on  the  Friday.  To  the  courage 
of  the  soldiers,  who,  in  spite  of  wounds  and  defeat 
on  the  Saturday,  were  ready  to  take  the  field  on  the 
Sunday,  a  just  compliment  was  paid  when  the  Pro- 
phet delivered  the  revelation  which  dealt  with  these 
events. 

In  dealing  with  an  ordinary  enemy,  probably  Abu 
Sufyan's  procedure  would  have  been  justified  :  he 
had  severely  punished  the  attack  on  his  own  people, 
and  could  have  counted  on  this  punishment  intim- 
idating the  enemy,  and  preventing  a  renewal  of  such 
attacks.     But  with  such  an  enemy  as  Mohammed 


Progress  and  a  Setback  303 

he  should  have  known  that  a  defeat  could  have  no 
such  effect :  his  energy  would  not  be  quieted  this 
side  of  the  grave.  The  Allies  however  who  sent 
Napoleon  to  Elba  appear  to  have  understood  human 
nature  no  better  :  and  perhaps  Abu  Sufyan  indulged 
in  the  hope  that  so  decisive  a  victory  over  Moham- 
med would  break  the  spell  which  enchanted  the 
Moslems,  who  now  had  ocular  demonstration  that 
Mohammed  had  no  allies  of  a  supernatural  order, 
and  that  even  his  sacred  person  was  not  proof  against 
material  weapons.  The  experience  of  a  later  inva- 
sion of  Medinah  also  shows  that  Abu  Sufyan  had 
not  the  least  notion  of  the  way  in  which  a  city  could 
be  stormed  or  even  attacked  :  and  having  narrowly 
escaped  death  in  the  battle  on  the  Saturday  he  may 
have  been  unwilling  to  risk  his  life  again  on  the  Sun- 
day. What  views  on  the  subject  were  held  by  the 
able  lieutenants  who  had  secured  the  victory,  we 
know  not :  but  after  a  little  more  of  Abu  Sufyan's 
leadership  we  find  them  desert  his  cause  for  that  of 
the  energetic  and  daring  commander  over  whom 
they  had  scored  a  victory. 

It  was  however,  after  the  conversion  of  Meccah, 
difficult  for  the  victors  of  Uhud  to  explain  the  mo- 
tives by  which  their  conduct  was  guided  on  that 
day:  and  inquisitive  archaeologists  were  put  off  with 
ambiguous  answers. 

Like  every  other  event  which  had  happened  since 
Mohammed's  arrival  at  Medinah  the  battle  of  Uhud 
tended  to  accentuate  the  hostility  between  Moslems 
and  Jews.  In  spite  of  its  being  fought  on  a  Sabbath 
some  Jewish  troops  were  prepared,  it  is  said,  to  follow 


304  Mohammed 

Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy:  but  Mohammed  refused 
their  assistance,  though  one  individual  named  Mu- 
chairik  late  in  the  day  joined  in  the  fray,  and,  dying 
a  hero's  death,  won  from  the  Prophet  the  title  Best 
of  the  Tews.  As  on  other  occasions  individuals  ap- 
pear to  have  taken  the  opportunity  of  taunting  the 
non-fighting  Moslems  with  the  Prophet's  difficul- 
ties :  we  hear  of  no  effort  on  the  part  of  the  enemies 
inside  Medinah  to  take  serious  advantage  of  the 
humiliating  return  of  the  Prophet :  the  numbedness 
and  stupidity  with  which  he  taunts  the  unbe- 
lievers seem  indeed  to  have  beset  them  so  often 
as  they  had  a  chance  of  doing  their  own  side  any 
service. 

The  "  leading  article "  on  the  battle  of  Uhud 
is  one  of  the  longest  continuous  passages  in  the 
Koran,  and  was  doubtless  composed  and  delivered 
after  the  first  unfavourable  impression  caused  by  the 
defeat  had  begun  to  fade  away.  Its  purpose  is  in 
part  to  convey  an  answer  and  a  menace  to  those  per- 
sons who  had  found  fault  with  the  Prophet's  strategy, 
and  who,  pointing  to  the  disaster,  were  trying  to 
dissuade  the  people  of  Medinah  from  further  expedi- 
tions. As  might  be  expected,  the  Prophet  throws 
the  blame  for  the  defeat  on  every  one  but  himself : 
he  calls  attention  to  his  own  mild  and  lenient  charac- 
ter, to  the  blessing  which  his  presence  was  to  his  fol- 
lowers :  he  finds  the  reason  for  the  defeat  now  in  the 
disobedience  to  his  commands,  now  in  the  eagerness 
of  the  Moslems  for  plunder,  and  now  in  the  purpose 
of  God,  who  would  "  know  "  which  were  believers 
and   which   hypocrites:  an   explanation   which  has 


Progress  and  a  Setback  305 

given  the  theologians  much  trouble.  Nevertheless 
the  divine  advice  to  the  Prophet  "  to  take  counsel  of 
them  in  future  "  implies  that  he  had  committed  an 
error  in  failing  to  take  it  on  this  occasion.  The  rest 
of  the  matter  is  commonplace  consolation,  such  as 
might  well  be  employed  by  a  brave  man  after  a 
defeat ;  recognition  of  the  vicissitudes  and  uncer- 
tainty of  war,  of  that  fate  which  cannot  be  avoided, 
so  that  no  man  by  staying  at  home  can  outwit  death, 
which  will  come  at  its  time  no  matter  where  its  vic- 
tim be  found ;  repetition  of  some  of  the  common- 
places of  religion,  which  tries  to  assure  the  believers 
that  death  is  better  than  life,  that  the  martyrs  of  the 
holy  war  are  not  dead,  but  alive,  enjoying  happiness 
rendered  incomplete  only  by  the  absence  of  the 
brethren  who  have  not  yet  joined  them  ;  eloquent 
praise  of  those  whom  no  danger  deterred,  and  whose 
ardour  no  discouragement  cooled  when  told  to  renew 
the  fight  the  day  after  defeat. 

Besides  this  harangue  many  poems  are  produced 
by  the  biographer,  of  which  the  battle  of  Uhud 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  occasion,  and  of  which 
the  authors  were  either  the  court  poets  of  Medinah, 
or  persons  who  had  taken  part  in  the  fray.  The 
genuineness  of  most  of  those  verses  is  questionable : 
but  if  they  give  us  any  correct  account  of  the  im- 
pression which  the  battle  left  on  the  minds  of  con- 
temporaries, it  would  appear  that  the  death  of 
Hamzah  was  the  calamity  therein  which  overshad- 
owed everything  else.  The  poems  ascribed  to  the 
Medinese  are  little  more  than  dirges  on  Hamzah  : 
and  even  the  Meccans  boast  of  this  more  than  of 


306  Mohammed 

any  other  event  in  the  battle.  According  to  the 
tradition  the  Prophet  took  some  pains  to  conceal 
this  disaster  from  Hamzah's  sister,  Safiyyah,  but 
found,  when  he  communicated  it  to  her,  that  she 
bore  it  bravely.  Sa'd,  son  of  Mu'adh,  compelled  the 
Medinese  women  to  forego  weeping  over  their  own 
dead  in  order  to  weep  for  Hamzah ;  and  the  custom 
remained  among  them  when  any  death  occurred  in  a 
family,  of  weeping  for  Hamzah  before  they  mourned 
their  own  dead.*  The  Koran  makes  no  allusion  to 
it,  and  though  Mohammed  is  supposed  to  have  felt  it 
deeply,  his  power  had  now  reached  a  point  when  the 
loss  of  one  strong  arm  mattered  little:  his  newly 
learned  tactics  were  also  destined  to  render  indi- 
vidual prowess  of  less  consequence  than  it  had  been 
to  the  handfuls  who  fought  his  first  battles.  The 
mutilation  of  Hamzah's  corpse  f  at  first  caused  him 
to  indulge  in  passionate  threats  of  reprisals  when  he 
got  the  chance :  but  he  presently  saw  the  impro- 
priety of  imitating,the  barbarity,  and  is  said  to  have 
urged  his  followers  in  repeated  discourses  to  abstain 
from  the  mutilation  of  the  dead :  and  we  are  told 
that  these  acts  had  not  had  the  authorisation  of  the 
Meccan  generals  but  were  due  to  the  fury  of  the 
women.  Hamzah,  valuable  as  was  his  arm  in  battle, 
is  scarcely  one  of  the  prominent  figures  on  the  earlier 
stage  of  Islam :  reliance  could  be  placed  on  his 
strength  and  courage  when  a  hard  blow  was  to  be 

*  Ibn  Sa'd,  iii.,  4. 

f  Hind,  daughter  of  'Utbah,  bit  his  liver.  According  to  Sir  S. 
Baker,  IsmaHlia,  ii.,,  354,  this  practice  is  maintained  by  some  tribes 
in  the  belief  that  the  liver  acts  as  a  charm. 


Progress  and  a  Setback  307 

struck,  but  the  Prophet  seems  to  have  placed  no 
confidence  in  his  brains:  and  his  abuse  of  Ali,  and 
even  Mohammed,  when  in  his  cups,  was  probably  not 
forgotten.  The  death  of  the  husband  of  Omar's 
daughter  Hafsah  gave  the  Prophet  the  chance  of 
allying  himself  with  this  faithful  follower ;  Omar 
offered  his  daughter  to  Abu  Bakr  and  Othman,  but 
these  persons  preferred  leaving  her  to  the  Prophet. 
She  was  a  woman  of  violent  temper  who  had  often 
to  be  put  down. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  losses  fell,  however,  not  on 
the  Refugees  but  on  the  people  of  Medinah :  if  the 
lists  given  be  accurate,  only  four  of  the  former  per- 
ished, but  over  sixty  of  the  latter.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  conflict,  Abu  Sufyan  is  said 
(perhaps  through  Abu  'Amir)  to  have  requested  the 
Helpers  to  stand  aside,  and  leave  the  Kuraish  to 
fight  out  their  dispute  between  themselves:  but  this 
proposition  was  indignantly  repudiated.  Probably 
the  heavy  loss  undergone  by  the  people  of  Medinah 
only  consolidated  their  attachment  and  loyalty  to 
the  Prophet :  the  grumbling  of  a  few  malcontents 
was  scarcely  heard  amid  the  acclamation  of  those 
who  declared  that  so  long  as  the  Prophet  was  safe 
the  death  of  all  their  nearest  and  dearest  was  of  no 
consequence.  Had  the  Prophet  himself  lost  heart, 
the  effect  would  have  been  different :  but  he  had  the 
strength  of  mind  and  of  will  to  throw  the  blame  of 
the  defeat  entirely  on  the  action  of  his  subordinates, 
and  also  to  take  advantage  of  the  retirement  of  the 
enemy  to  claim  a  moral  victory.  The  wounds  which 
he  had  sustained  did  not  trouble  him  for  more  than 


3o8 


Mohammed 


a  month  :  and  his  appearance  in  the  Mosque,  leaning 
on  the  arms  of  his  comrades,  and,  with  the  wounds 
still  showing,  delivering  messages  so  warlike  and  so 
encouraging  as  the  third  Surah,  was  not  without 
theatrical  effect.  The  persons  who  at  such  times 
see  the  real  situation  are  at  a  disadvantage.  Men 
were  not  impressed  but  shocked,  when  told  that  the 
promise  of  Paradise  was  illusory,  and  that  under  the 
Prophet's  rule  blood  was  shed  in  rivers  where  pre- 
viously it  had  been  shed  in  rills.  The  defeat  of 
Uhud  did  not  shake  the  faith  of  a  single  proselyte: 
and  even  from  the  first  it  was  probably  penal  to 
speak  of  it  as  anything  but  a  victory. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  JEWS 

WHAT  feelings  were  excited  in  Arabia  by  the 
news  of  the  Kurashite  success  we  are  not 
told  directly:  but  the  next  event  recorded* 
is  the  treacherous  capture  of  some  of  Mohammed's 
followers  by  two  tribes  (called  'Adal  and  Karah)  who 
sent  to  the  Prophet  for  missionaries  to  come  and  ex- 
plain to  them  the  principles  of  Islam.  Their  purpose 
was  to  get  possession  of  the  person  of  'Asim,  son  of 
Thabit,  for  whose  head  a  reward  of  a  hundred  camels 
had  been  offered  by  the  mother  of  men  slain  by  him 
at  Uhud.  Mohammed,  not  often  caught  napping, 
sent  a  party  of  six,  of  whom  'Asim  was  one,  who 
were  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  tribe  Hudhail, 
famous  for  their  lays.  The  Hudhail  meant  to  sell 
them  to  the  Meccans,  whether  in  exchange  for  prison- 
ers of  their  own  tribe  or  for  gold  :  but  three  of  them 
died  fighting,  and  one  died  attempting  to  escape. 
Two  (Khubaib  and  Zaid,  son  of  al-Dathinnah)  were 
taken  to  Meccah  and  there  sold,  and  given  to  the 
families  of  men  who  had  fallen  at  Uhud,  to  be  slain. 


Safar  a.h.  4  ;  identified  with  July-August,  A.D.  625. 
309 


310  Mohammed 

They  were  crucified,  cursing  their  captors:  and  the 
Caliph  Mu'awiyah,*  first  of  the  Umayyads,  after- 
wards recorded  how  his  father  had  made  him  lie  on 
his  side  at  the  execution,  that  the  curses  might  slip 
off  him  :  so  hard  was  it  for  them  to  distinguish  word 
from  weapon. 

With  the  followers  of  a  sect  who,  as  has  been 
seen,  practised  treachery  whenever  it  was  deemed 
advisable,  we  cannot  sympathise  when  they  suffer 
from  a  similar  crime:  but  the  event  is  of  interest  as 
showing  how  deep  an  impression  Uhud  left  on  the 
mind  of  the  neighbours ;  and  we  can  reproduce  in 
thought  the  gibes  with  which  Mohammed's  former 
boasts  of  heavenly  aid  were  now  recollected.  Mo- 
hammed had  recourse  to  the  expedient  which  had 
already  been  so  useful  in  dealing  with  refractory 
Jews.  He  sent  an  assassin  to  murder  the  Hudhalite 
chief,  Sufyan,  son  of  Khalid  :  the  chief  was  with  the 
women  of  his  family,  mounted  on  camels,  seeking  a 
summer  residence  for  them.  The  assassin  came  on 
him  unawares  and  left  the  women  weeping.f 

Another  assassin,  *Amr,  son  of  Umayyah,  was 
sent  on  a  more  promising  project — to  murder  Abu 
Sufyan  at  Meccah.  'Amr  was  a  Meccan,  thoroughly 
familiar  with  Meccan  ways,  and  he  was  given  as  a 
companion  a  native  of  Medinah.  The  story  of  his 
exploit  is  preserved  by  Tabari,  and  vividly  depicts 
the  character  of  the  desperadoes  whom  Mohammed 
had  in  his  service.  His  pious  companion  wished 
before  attacking  Abu  Sufyan  to  perform  his  devo- 


*  Aghani,  iv.,  40.     Ibn  Duraid,  262,  with  some  errors. 
\Diyarbekri,  i.,  507. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  3 1 1 

tions  at  the  Ka'bah,  and  by  the  time  this  ceremony 
was  over  the  Meccans  were  seated  in  groups  outside 
their  houses.  'Amr,  son  of  Umayyah,  was  recognised 
and  pursued :  but  he  was  familiar  with  modes  of  es- 
caping justice,  and  found  his  way  to  a  cave  outside 
Meccah, — not,  we  suppose,  the  same  in  which  his  mas- 
ter had  hidden  :  a  Meccan  pursuer  discovered  the  cave 
and  was  transfixed  by  'Amr  before  he  could  indicate 
the  assassin's  whereabouts  to  his  fellows.  When,  after 
a  day  or  two,  pursuit  had  slackened,  he  made  an  at- 
tempt to  carry  off  the  cross  on  which  Khubaib  had 
been  impaled.  Disturbed  in  this  bold  attempt  he 
found  the  road  to  Medinah,  and  skulked  for  a  time  in 
another  cave,  where  he  succeeded  in  murdering  an- 
other man  of  Meccah  ;  and  meeting  two  more  emissa- 
ries from  Meccah  he  killed  one  and  forced  the  other  to 
render  himself  prisoner.  Meanwhile  he  had  provided 
for  the  safety  of  his  companion,  who  reached  Medinah 
before  him  :  whither  he  presently  arrived  himself, 
bringing  his  prisoner,  to  earn  the  warm  praise  of 
the  Prophet.*  Besides  despatching  assassins,  Mo- 
hammed thought  it  desirable  to  make  a  display  of 
force,  hearing  news  that  other  tribes  were  em- 
boldened by  the  Kurashite  success  to  try  a  fall  with 
him.  Against  the  Banu  Asad,  who  were  thought  to 
be  doing  this,  a  troop  of  150  was  sent,  which,  how- 
ever, encountered  no  resistance,  and  had  to  be  satis- 
fied with  raiding  camels  on  a  moderate  scale. 

The  success  of  the  Hudhail  in  entrapping  Moslems 
encouraged  another  chief  to  try  the  same  plan.  A 
demand  for  missionaries  to  Nejd  was  made  by  Abu 


*  Tabari,  i.,  1441. 


3 1 2  Mohammed 

Bara  'Amir,  son  of  Malik,  chief  of  the  Banu  'Amir. 
The  Prophet  after  some  hesitation  sent  a  company  of 
seventy,  consisting  of  devotees,  whose  studies  in  the 
Koran  had  earned  for  them  the  name  of  the  Readers. 
"  They  used,  at  nightfall,  to  go  to  a  teacher  in  Me- 
dinah,  and  spend  the  night  in  study  :  when  morning 
broke,  the  strong  ones  would  gather  wood  and  draw 
water,  while  those  who  were  better  off  would  buy  a 
sheep,  dress  it,  and  leave  it  hanging  in  the  Prophet's 
Precincts."  *  Seventy  —  if  the  number  be  correctly 
given — was  a  large  force,  if  intended  for  preaching : 
but  not  too  large  if  fighting  also  was  intended.  At 
the  well  of  Ma'unah,  not  far  from  Medinah,  they 
were  attacked  by  'Amir,  son  of  Tufail,  chief  of  the 
great  tribe  Sulaim  :  Abu  Bara's  promise  of  protection 
could  not  be  carried  out,  though  he  and  his  tribe 
took  no  part  in  the  assault.  The  seventy  theologians 
were  slaughtered  all  but  to  a  man  :  only  one  escaped, 
having  been  left  for  dead.  'Amr,  son  of  Umayyah, 
figures  on  this  occasion  also  :  he  was  with  the  bag- 
gage of  the  expedition,  and  was  also  taken  by  the 
enemy,  but  let  go  because  of  some  plausible  pretext 
that  he  had  alleged,  though  with  his  forelock  shorn. 
On  his  way  homewards  he  found  two  of  the  Banu 
'Amir,  whom  he  waylaid  and  slew.  But  this  act 
turned  out  to  have  been  an  unnecessary  display  of 
zeal  since  the  Banu  'Amir  had  ostensibly  broken  no 
contract:  and  Mohammed  had  to  pay  blood-money 
for  them. 

The  death  of   the   seventy  emissaries  is   said  to 
have  shocked  Mohammed  more  than  the  disaster  of 


*  Musnad,  iii. ,  137. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  3 1 3 

Uhud ;  for  thirty,  or,  according  to  others,  forty 
mornings  he  cursed  its  authors,  and  he  even  pub- 
lished a  divine  message  dealing  with  the  affair  which, 
for  some  reason,  was  not  afterwards  incorporated  in 
the  Koran.*  With  a  cause  like  his,  discredit  such  as 
results  from  a  series  of  failures  was  likely  to  have 
serious  consequences ;  and  the  cross  of  martyrdom, 
so  eagerly  desired  by  some,  was  by  no  means  coveted 
by  others.  Hence  the  pathetic  message  which  came 
from  the  murdered  men  in  Paradise,  stating  that 
they  had  met  their  God,  and  been  satisfied  with  each 
other,  may  have  been  found  unwelcome  after  this 
second  disaster. 

It  is  a  sign  of  the  Prophet's  being  alarmed  that  he 
undertook  to  pay  the  blood-money  and  return  the 
plunder  taken  from  the  two  'Amirites  whom  the  de- 
sperado 'Amr  had  slain.  And  for  this  he  went  to 
demand  assistance  from  the  Jewish  tribe  Nadir — to 
the  end  of  his  life  he  would  always  apply  to  the 
Jews  when  he  wanted  money.  That  the  Jews  were 
more  and  more  elated  by  each  disaster  that  he  un- 
derwent is  attested  and  is  easily  credible ;  we  shall 
never  know  whether  Mohammed's  visit  to  them  on 
this  occasion  was  the  first  step  in  a  preconceived 
plot  or  turned  to  account  by  an  after-thought. 
Moreover,  the  death  of  the  Nadirite  Ka'b,  son  of 
Al-Ashraf,  if  indeed  it  did  not  take  place  about  this 
time  (which  there  is  some  ground  for  thinking),  is  not 
likely  to  have  been  forgotten  by  either  party ;  the 
request,  therefore,  from  Mohammed  for  help  in  pay- 
ing blood-money  might  well  have  seemed  impudent 

*  Diyarbekri%  i.,  510. 


3 1 4  Mohammed 

to  a  tribe  who  had  a  right  to  demand  it  of  him. 
Still  the  reception  given  him  was  favourable  ;  but  a 
voice  from  heaven  informed  him  that  his  hosts  had 
bethought  them  of  taking  advantage  of  his  weak- 
ness, and  that  one  of  them,  'Amr,  son  of  Jihash,  was 
mounting  the  roof,  with  the  view  of  throwing  a 
stone  on  the  Prophet's  head.  We  know  not,  having 
no  Jewish  account  of  the  matter,  whether  this  bold 
design  was  really  contemplated ;  but  since  the 
Prophet  had  a  fixed  idea  that  the  Jews  always 
wanted  to  murder  him — an  idea  which  owed  its  ori- 
gin to  the  accusation  of  "killing  the  Prophets" 
launched  against  them  by  the  Founder  of  Christ- 
ianity—  he  may  have  sincerely  believed  such  an 
attempt  was  meditated.  He  therefore  rushed  back 
to  Medinah,  asserting  that  he  was  escaping  from  a 
treacherous  assault,  and  summoned  his  followers  to 
besiege  the  Banu  Nadir.  The  followers  were  quite 
ready.  Of  the  fighting  ability  of  the  Jews,  and  of 
the  energy  of  their  partisans  in  Medinah,  they  had 
ample  experience  ;  there  was  not  the  least  chance  of 
any  resistance  to  an  energetic  attack.  One  account 
indeed  informs  us  that  Mohammed  sent  a  messen- 
ger offering  them  eight  days  in  which  to  remove 
their  possessions,  and  that  this  proposal  would  have 
been  accepted  immediately  had  not  the  unfortunate 
Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy  urgently  advised  them  to  re- 
sist, and  promised  them  assistance  in  the  event  of 
their  doing  so.  The  Banu  Kuraizah,  to  whom  an 
appeal  was  made  on  behalf  of  their  brethren,  flatly 
refused  to  break  with  Mohammed.  This  act  of  cow- 
ardice prepares  us  to  feel  less  sympathy  with  them 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  3 1 5 

for  the  fate  that  afterwards  befell  them.  The  fort- 
resses occupied  by  the  Nadir  were  probably  no  worse 
than  the  others  at  Medinah ;  and  legend,  if  not  his- 
tory, recorded  how  the  fortresses  of  Yathrib  had 
held  out  against  the  great  Yemenite  King  Tubba' 
and  forced  him  to  raise  a  siege.* 

Experience  shows  that  the  most  inexpugnable  and 
best  provisioned  fortresses  are  useless  unless  there 
are  men  inside  them.  Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy  had 
good  grounds  for  believing  that  the  Jewish  forts 
were  easily  able  to  resist  an  attack,  and  that  the  de- 
fenders were  well  supplied.  Let  the  Jews  (he  rea- 
soned) weary  Mohammed  by  successful  defence  for 
some  months  at  least,  and  meanwhile  he  could 
marshal  his  concealed  forces,  and  attack  Mohammed 
from  the  rear  or  flank.  With  Abdallah  the  tradition 
mentions  certain  other  Hypocrites,  who,  however, 
are  to  us  merely  names.  Apparently  they  all  shared 
the  peculiarity  of  the  Jews — readiness  to  do  anything 
rather  than  fight.  From  Meccah,  too,  an  expedition 
might  erelong  be  expected.  Huyayy,  the  chief  of 
the  Banu  Nadir,  was  persuaded  by  those  fair  pro- 
mises, and  prepared  to  defend  his  lands.  But  the 
forts,  defended  by  cowards  (who,  moreover,  were 
divided  amongst  themselves)  f  and  attacked  by  dis- 
ciplined soldiers,  proved  themselves  untenable.  The 
pride  of  the  Nadirites  was  a  sort  of  date  so  clear 
that  the  stone  could  be  seen  through  the  pulp. 
Mohammed  cut  or  burnt  those  date  trees,  and  the 
heart  of  the  Nadirites  melted.     In  vain  did  they 

*  Aghani,  xiii.,  120. 
f  Surah  lix.,  14, 


3 1 6  Mohammed 

remonstrate  that  such  wanton  destruction  of  property 
was  in  contradiction  to  the  precepts  of  the  Koran  and 
of  the  law  which  the  Koran  professed  to  confirm; 
the  Prophet's  notions  on  these  matters  were  elastic. 
After  three  weeks'  resistance  the  Nadirites  offered  to 
capitulate,  on  condition  of  being  allowed  to  go  away 
unmolested,  taking  with  them  such  property  (except 
armour)  as  their  camels  could  carry.  Some  of  the 
Moslems  assisted  them  in  dismantling  their  houses. 
There  were  only  two  renegades  who  retained  their 
lands.  The  rest  marched  away  with  all  the  honours 
of  war.  The  Prophet's  victory  was  bloodless,  giving 
him  the  right  to  dispose  of  the  whole  of  the  plunder.* 
The  "leader  "  inserted  in  the  Koran  f  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  expedition  charges  the  Nadirites  only 
with  resistance  to  the  Prophet ;  possibly  by  the  time 
it  was  "  revealed  "  he  had  discovered  that  his  former 
suspicion  was  groundless.  The  purpose  of  the  revela- 
tion apparently  is  to  justify  the  proceeding  whereby 
the  land  of  the  Nadirites  was  exclusively  assigned  to 
the  Refugees.  But  the  author  cannot  refrain  from 
sarcasms  on  both  the  Jews  and  the  Hypocrites.  He 
compares  the  latter  to  the  Tempter,  who  urged  man 
to  rebel  against  God,  and  when  he  rebelled,  washed 
his  hands  of  him.  They  might  promise  to  share  any 
danger  or  disaster  which  befell  the  Jews,  but  they 
would  never  fulfil  their  promise.  Their  fear  of  the 
Moslems  was  greater  than  their  fear  of  God.  There 
was  no  unity  among  them,  each  person  having  a  de- 
sign or  object  of  his  own.     In  fact,  he  sums  up,  they 

*  RabV  /,  H.s.  4  ;  identified  with  August-September,  a.d.  625. 
f  Surah  lix. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  3 1 7 

have  no  understanding.  This  revelation  also  con- 
tained an  ex  post  facto  justification  of  the  destruction 
of  the  palm-trees.  It  had  all  been  done  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  command  of  God. 

The  poets  whose  commemorative  verses  are 
cited  by  the  biographers  connect  the  banishment 
of  the  Nadirites  with  the  murder  of  Ka'b,  son 
of  Al-Ashraf,  which  indeed  can  scarcely  have  failed 
to  elicit  some  remonstrance,  and  even  threats  of 
vengeance.  The  Prophet  seems  to  suggest  that 
the  fortresses  of  the  Nadirites  were  rendered 
indefensible  by  some  sort  of  surprise — God  came 
upon  them  whence  they  expected  not.  What-/ 
ever  was  the  exact  series  of  events,  Mohammed  had 
proved  himself  equal  to  dealing  with  internal  ad- 
versaries, notwithstanding  his  failure  in  external 
warfare. 

The  banishment  of  the  Banu  Nadir  put  some  valu- 
able cards  into  the  Prophet's  hand.  In  the  first 
place  permanent  provision  was  made  for  the  Refu- 
gees, who  had  no  longer  any  occasion  for  depend- 
ence on  the  Helpers'  charity,  which  is  likely  to  have 
become  less  enthusiastic  as  the  years  passed.  Indeed 
this  accession  of  property  seems  to  have  enabled  the 
tide  of  charity  to  turn,  and  a  few  of  the  needy  but 
faithful  Medinese  got  some  of  the  plunder.  On  the 
other  hand  the  feebleness,  irresolution,  and  incom- 
petence of  the  hostile  party  had  once  more  been 
demonstrated.  They  heartily  wished  for  Moham- 
med's destruction:  but  this  motive  was  as  nothing 
compared  with  their  anxiety  for  their  own  skins.  To 
break  openly  with  the  Prophet  undoubtedly  meant 


3 1 8  Mohammed 

danger,  for  AH,  Omar,  and  the  others  would  die 
hard,  and  at  the  price  of  many  lives.  But  the 
Prophet  taunted  them  with  folly  in  not  perceiving 
that  by  allowing  him  to  cut  off  his  enemies,  party 
by  party,  they  were  making  certain  a  doom  which 
union  and  energy  might  still  avert.  Abdallah,  son 
of  Ubayy,  has  left  no  memoirs  in  vindication  of  his 
conduct,  but  his  energetic  action  on  behalf  of  the 
Banu  Kainuka  makes  it  possible  that  he  played  the 
part  of  a  Demosthenes,  or  of  Cicero  after  Caesar's 
death :  of  the  man  who  vainly  endeavours  to  inspire 
courage  and  confidence  into  the  half-hearted. 

The  banishment  of  the  Banu  Nadir  was  followed 
by  a  futile  attempt  to  finish  the  battle  of  Uhud.  We 
are  told  that,  on  parting  from  Mohammed,  Abu  Suf- 
yan  there  made  an  appointment  to  renew  hostilities 
the  next  year  at  Badr,  but  that  for  some  reason  or 
another  the  appointment  was  not  kept.  It  is  most 
likely  that  Abu  Sufyan  found  that  he  had  sadly  over- 
estimated the  blow  which  he  had  dealt  the  Prophet's 
power  at  Uhud ;  that  he  committed  the  mistake,  so 
often  made,  of  confusing  victory  with  conquest. 
When  therefore  he  found  that  he  had  in  no  way 
weakened  the  Prophet's  hold  on  his  followers,  and 
that  by  plunder  and  expatriation  of  internal  enemies 
the  Prophet  had  in  the  interval  considerably  strength- 
ened his  position,  he  was  not  anxious  for  the  return 
match.  One  account  tells  us  that  he  endeavoured  to 
make  the  Prophet  break  the  engagement  by  sending 
to  Medinah  a  spy,  hired  to  circulate  false  rumours 
of  the  strength  of  the  Meccans,  which  Mohammed, 
having  himself  practised  the  same   stratagem   sue- 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  3 1 9 

cessfully  the  previous  year,  correctly  interpreted  as  a 
sign  of  weakness.  When  this  failed  Abu  Sufyan  ap- 
pears to  have  made  an  abortive  expedition  to  Badr, 
whence  he  almost  immediately  returned,  on  the 
ground  that  the  season  was  unsuitable.  The  army 
that  he  brought  was  sarcastically  termed  by  the  Mos- 
lems the  "  water-gruel  army,"  it  is  said,  because  Abu 
Sufyan  withdrew  it  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  the  ma- 
terials requisite  for  that  dish.  This  explanation  of 
the  gibe  seems  far-fetched,  and  its  real  origin  was 
probably  forgotten.  Mohammed  brought  an  army 
of  fifteen  hundred  men  (with  ten  horses)  to  the 
rendezvous,  and  the  size  and  equipment  of  this  force 
proving  to  the  Meccans  that  the  Moslem  cause  had 
scarcely  been  injured  by  the  affair  of  Uhud,  spread 
something  like  consternation  in  Meccah.  *  We  are 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  annual  fair  took  place 
at  the  intended  battle-field,  and  that  the  Moslems, 
though  unable  on  this  occasion  to  carry  on  the  com- 
merce of  war,  carried  on  with  profit  that  of  peace.  \ 
The  successes  which  we  have  just  recorded  seem 
to  have  given  the  Prophet  leisure  to  attend  to  his  do- 
mestic affairs,  and  at  the  same  time  to  test  the  en- 
durance of  his  followers.  One  of  the  abuses  which 
Mohammed  had  abolished  was  marriage  with  a 
father's  wife — a  usage  which  seems  to  have  prevailed 
before  his  mission,  when  the  father's  wives  were  in- 
herited by  the  son  with  his  other  possessions.  Now, 
as  we  have  seen,  Mohammed  had  many  years  before 
adopted  Zaid,  son  of  Harithah,  and  the  old  system 

*  Wakidi,  (  W.\   168. 

\Dhu"l-Ka!dah,  a.h.  4 ;  identified  with  April-May,  A.D.  626. 


320  Mohammed 

knew  of  no  difference  between  an  adopted  son  and  a 
real  son.*  Zaid  had  been  married  first  to  a  freed- 
woman,  and  afterwards  to  a  cousin  of  the  Prophet's 
own,  named  Zainab,  daughter  of  Jahsh.  For  some 
reason  or  other  the  Prophet  desired  to  add  this  lady 
to  his  own  harem,  or  at  any  rate  to  bring  her  under 
his  influence;  his  motive  is  not  known,  but  it  may 
have  been  admiration  for  her  piety,  which  was  cele- 
brated. She  at  one  time  went  to  the  length  of  hang- 
ing cords  between  the  pillars  of  the  Mosque  to 
support  herself  on  during  prayer,f  an  act  which,  if 
prior  to  her  marriage  with  the  Prophet,  rather  implies 
that  she  wished  to  attract  his  attention.  From  the 
account  of  the  matter  in  the  Koran  it  appears  that 
Zaid  became  aware  that  the  Prophet  wanted  his 
wife,  and  thought  it  wisest  to  yield  his  rights  with- 
out further  delay.  It  also  appears  that  the  Prophet 
was  unwilling  to  take  advantage  of  Zaid's  complais- 
ance, but  found  it  to  be  the  best  course;  and,  in- 
deed, Zainab  refused  to  assent  to  this  step  without 
a  special  revelation,  J  which  speedily  was  produced. 
Zaid,  therefore,  divorced  Zainab,  who  was  married 
by  the  Prophet,  who  foresaw  that  this  act  would 
give  rise  to  grave  scandal,  but  gave  the  usual  mar- 
riage feast,  and,  indeed,  with  special  luxury,  his 
followers  being  entertained  with  bread  and  mutton, § 
whereas  on  other  similar  occasions  they  had  to  be 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage,  2d  ed.,  53.  Wellhausen 
(Ehe,  141)  says  the  scandal  was  caused  by  Mohammed's  breach  of  his 
own  law. 

f  Musnad,  Hi.,  101,  etc. 

\Ibid.,  iii.,  195. 

%IHd.%  iii.,  98,  24a, 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  321 

content  with  dates  and  whey.*  This  liberality  did 
not  prevent  severe  comments  from  those  who  re- 
garded adopted  sonship  as  real  sonship — for  which 
view  Mohammed's  institution  of  brotherhoods  gave 
some  support  —  and  who,  therefore,  regarded  this 
union  as  incestuous.  How  deeply  the  scandal 
agitated  the  Prophet  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that 
Zaid's  name  is  mentioned  in  the  revelation  in 
which  this  delicate  business  was  afterwards  handled. 
The  whole  responsibility  for  the  event  is  thrown  on 
God ;  the  Prophet's  hesitation  to  marry  Zainab  was 
due  to  his  fear  of  men,  whereas  God  only  ought  to 
have  been  feared.  Zaid  is  described  as  a  person 
whom  both  God  and  the  Prophet  had  favoured,  and 
the  Moslems  are  assured  that  there  was  no  occasion 
for  the  Prophet  to  giner  himself  (the  French  word 
renders  the  Arabic  exactly)  in  privileges  which  be- 
longed to  the  Prophetic  office.  An  adopted  son 
was  not  the  same  as  a  son,  and  was  not  to  count  as 
such.  The  jealous  Ayeshah  at  a  later  period,  sar- 
castically proved  from  this  verse  how  faithfully  the 
Prophet  delivered  the  messages  which  were  en- 
trusted to  him  to  deliver;  for  if  any  verse  of  the 
Koran  might  have  been  concealed  with  advantage, 
this  one  might.f  It  seems  as  if  the  Prophet  did  not 
venture  to  communicate  this  revelation  till  another 
victory  had  secured  his  position.  And  Ayeshah 
had  little  reason  to  find  fault  with  it,  since  she  her- 
self presently  profited  by  the  divine  interest  in 
the   Prophet's  domestic   irregularities.     The  figure 

*  .\fustiad,  iii.,  99,  172. 

\  Muslim,  i.,  63. 


322  Mohammed 

of  Zaid  himself  in  the  story  is  mute.  We  should 
gather  that  he  was  not  a  man  of  strong  domestic  at- 
tachments, since  he  repeatedly  went  through  the 
form  of  marriage  and  divorce.  He  is  credited  (we 
know  not  with  what  truth)  with  having  at  the  outset 
of  his  career  preferred  Mohammed  to  his  parents, 
who  having  lost  him  by  captivity,  wished  to  reclaim 
him,  and  Mohammed  to  the  end  placed  in  his  pow- 
ers an  unlimited  confidence  which  the  Moslems  did 
not  share,  and  was  so  little  convinced  by  the  revela- 
tion in  which  adoption  was  declared  to  have  no  legal 
value  that,  if  Ayeshah  may  be  believed,  he  intended 
to  make  Zaid  his  successor.*  The  revelation,  how- 
ever, was  regarded  as  law,  and  adopted  sons  were 
handed  up  to  their  parents  or  former  owners.f 
Even  a  man  who  had  been  adopted  by  a  Meccan 
in  pre-Islamic  times,  Mikdad,  son  of  Al-Aswad,  re- 
sumed his  original  filiation  as  Mikdad,  son  of  'Amr4 
The  Jews,  who  had  so  easily  abandoned  their 
strongholds,  were  now  trying  hard  to  get  others  to 
fight ;  to  one  centre  and  another  they  sent  deputa- 
tions, denouncing  the  impostor  who  wished  to  sub- 
jugate all  Arabia.  As  in  old  times  their  ancestors 
had  denounced  Christianity  before  pagans,  so  now 
they  told  the  Meccans  that  their  religion  was  better 
than  Mohammed's.  Possibly  the  Meccans  remem- 
bered how  a  few  years  before  the  Jews  were  the 
witnesses  whom  Mohammed  cited  to  attest  his  state- 
ments, and  to  whom  he  appealed  when  in  doubt 


*  Isabah. 

f  Ibid.,  ii.,  109. 

%Ibid.,  hi.,  932, 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  323 

about  himself.  The  indignation  displayed  by  Mo- 
hammed when  he  heard  of  the  Jewish  patronage  of 
idolatry  appears  to  have  been  unfeigned.  However, 
their  emissaries  had  succeeded  in  making  a  treaty 
with  the  Meccans  within  the  curtains  of  the  Ka'bah, 
by  the  terms  of  which  the  parties  were  bound  to 
oppose  Mohammed  so  long  as  any  of  them  were 
alive.* 

Besides  the  Meccans  the  Jewish  emissaries  had 
succeeded  in  stirring  up  the  tribes  called  Ghatafan, 
of  which  three,  the  Banu  Fazarah,  the  Banu  Murrah, 
and  the  Banu  Ashja',  made  their  way  to  Medinah 
under  their  leaders  'Uyainah,  son  of  Hisn,  Al-Harith, 
son  of  'Auf,  and  Mis'ar,  son  of  Rukhailah.  The 
tribes  Asad  and  Sulaim  also  joined.f  These  tribes 
had,  it  was  said,  been  stirred  up  by  Jews  from 
Khaibar,  who  had  promised  them  a  year's  date  har- 
vest for  their  trouble  :  and  the  Prophet,  to  warn  the 
Jews  of  Khaibar,  sent  Abdallah,  son  of  Rawahah,  to 
lure  some  of  them  away  from  the  city,  on  the  pre- 
tence of  an  honourable  visit  to  the  Prophet,  and 
murder  them  on  the  way :  a  mission  which  was  suc- 
cessfully executed,  the  Arabian  Jews  being  as  incau- 
tious as  they  were  cowardly.^  The  purpose  of  the 
great  expedition  was  to  take  Medinah  and  thus  stop 
the  mischief  at  its  source.  Two  years  before  Medi- 
nah had  been  supposed  by  its  inhabitants  to  be 
inexpugnable.  Perhaps  the  feeble  resistance  made 
in  the  Jewish  quarter  to  an  attacking  party  had 

*  Wakidi  (  W,\  190. 

\Ibid.t 

%  Ishak,  980. 


324  Mohammed 

convinced  both  Mohammed  and  his  enemies  that 
this  was  an  error.  Pickaxes,  shovels,  and  baskets 
were  lent  by  the  Banu  Kuraizah. 

To  a  certain  Salman  the  Persian  is  attributed  the 
idea  of  defending  Medinah  by  a  trench.  This  per- 
son appears  to  have  been  a  slave  at  Medinah  when 
the  Prophet  arrived  there,  and  to  have  adopted 
Islam,  perhaps  thereby  gaining  his  liberty,  since  the 
freeing  of  slaves  was  one  of  the  earliest  acts  of 
charity  imposed  on  the  Moslems  who  could  afford  it. 
The  accounts  given  of  his  antecedents  are  so  evi- 
dently fabulous  that  we  cannot  quote  them  here  :  we 
should  be  inclined  to  guess  from  his  name  that  he 
was  a  Nabataean,  who  had,  perhaps,  been  born,  or 
lived,  in  Persia :  certainly  the  name  which  he  gave 
to  his  "  trench "  (Khandak)  is  pure  Persian.  It 
would  also  appear  that  the  plan  of  defending  one's 
possessions  by  this  simple  expedient  was  displeasing 
to  the  Arabs,  whose  notions  of  war  were,  as  we  have 
seen,  rather  chivalrous  than  practical.  But  in  any 
case  there  was  one  side  where  the  buildings  of  Medi- 
nah were  not  sufficiently  close  together  to  constitute 
a  defence.  The  Prophet,  with  the  good  sense  which 
he  so  often  displayed  when  occasion  required  it, 
took  a  pickaxe  himself,  marked  out  the  line  of 
entrenchment,  and  divided  the  work  of  digging 
between  his  three  thousand  followers,  who  worked 
continuously  in  relays.  The  tradition  records  how 
the  Prophet,  as  he  worked,  sang : 

"  There  is  no  life  save  that  of  Paradise. 
Pardon  the  Helpers,  Lord,  and  Refugees  "  ; 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  325 

and  how  his  followers  answered  : 

Unto  Mohammed  we  have  pledged  our  faith, 
To  fight  his  foes  and  flee  not  until  death."* 

The  line  went  "  from  the  '  fort  of  the  two  old  men  ' 
to  Al-Madhad,  then  over  Dhubab  and  Husaikah 
towards  Ratij — including  the  mountain  of  the  Banu 
'Ubaid  in  Khusbah  "  \  —  all  these  names  became 
obsolete  shortly  after:  the  places  appear  to  have 
lain  to  the  north-east  of  Medinah,  beyond  the  eleva- 
tion called  Sal',  where  the  Moslem  army  was  sta- 
tioned. The  women  and  children  were  meanwhile 
placed  for  security  in  the  towers. 

The  digging  of  the  trench  is  one  of  the  episodes  in 
the  history  of  Islam  that  gave  most  occasion  for 
mythical  embellishment. 

The  numbers  of  the  invaders  are  put  by  the 
biographers  at  ten  thousand  % ;  whether  this  be  an 
exaggeration  or  not,  apparently  what  was  wanting 
was  not  force,  but  strategy.  The  trench  planned  by 
Salman  the  Persian  proved  an  insurmountable 
hindrance  to  their  advance.     The  Prophet  and  his 

*Musnad,  iii.,  205,  etc. 

f  Wakidi(lV.),  192.      Tabari,  i.,  1407. 

\  Kuraish  with  their  allies 4000 

Sulaim 700  § 

Fazarah 1000 

Ashja* 400 

Murrah 400 

The  numbers  of  the  Asad  and  probably  some  other  tribes  are  not 
given. 

§  Wakidi{W.)t  191. 


326  Mohammed 

followers  had,  indeed,  to  endure  considerable  hard- 
ships, in  guarding  it  during  the  cold  winter  nights; 
but  only  a  few  of  the  latter  lost  courage.  The 
campaign,  which  lasted  close  upon  a  month,  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows :  the  invaders  waited  outside 
the  trench  in  the  hope  that  the  Moslems  would 
come  out  and  fight.  When  they  discovered  that  the 
latter  had  no  intention  of  doing  so,  the  invaders 
went  away  again.  A  crossing,  indeed,  at  one  point  * 
was  effected  by  a  venturous  party,  but  it  never  even 
occurred  to  the  general  to  see  that  they  were  sup- 
ported, and  the  result  was  a  duel,  in  which  a  Kura- 
shite  champion,  'Amr,  son  of  Abd  Wudd,  was  slain 
by  the  redoubtable  Ali.  A  few  casualties  also  were 
due  to  the  archery  practice,  among  which  a  wound 
inflicted  on  the  chief  of  the  Aus,  Sa'd,  son  of  Mu'adh, 
was  destined  to  have  serious  consequences.  Khalid, 
son  of  Al-Walid,  commander  of  the  Kurashite  cav- 
alry, had  some  opportunities  of  furbishing  his  Uhud 
laurels,  but  failed  to  use  them  ;  and  a  number  of 
futile  attacks  were  made  by  the  other  Meocan  leaders 
which  were  frustrated  by  the  vigilance  of  the  Mos- 
lems, and  their  own  inability  to  co-operate.  This 
was  the  best  and  also  the  last  chance  given  to  the 
Meccans  and  Jews  of  breaking  Mohammed's  power. 
And  it  was  utterly  wasted,  partly  for  want  of  physi- 
cal courage,  but  chiefly  because  there  was  no  man 
with  brains  in  command.  The  unforeseen  stratagem 
of  the  trench  seems  to  have  paralysed  them  as  com- 
pletely as  the  machine  gun  might  paralyse  an  enemy 
who  had  never  heard  of  gunpowder. 
*Ishak,  678. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  327 

An  army  must  be  well  organised  and  well  disciplined 
to  stand  delay.  These  hordes  were  neither:  and 
even  if  the  commander  of  the  Kuraish  had  some 
notion  of  what  his  purpose  was,  the  auxiliary  tribes 
were  very  much  in  the  dark  about  it.  It  is  said  that 
Mohammed  started  negotiations  for  buying  their 
retirement,  and  that  these  were  abortive,  not  for 
any  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  tribes  to  their  allies, 
but  because  of  the  fanaticism  of  Mohammed's  fol- 
lowers, who  then,  as  often,  took  a  more  exalted  view 
of  the  honour  of  Islam  than  its  founder  took.  The 
chief  sufferers  were  destined  to  be  the  Jews,  those 
Banu  Kuraizah  whose  tender  sense  of  their  obliga- 
tions to  Mohammed  had  kept  them  from  making 
common  cause  with  the  Banu  Nadir  the  year  before. 
The  Nadirite  agitator,  Huyayy,  son  of  Akhtab,  who 
had  failed  to  obtain  their  help  at  that  time,  found  a 
readier  hearing  now  that  he  appeared  in  company 
with  ten  thousand  troops  of  Arabs.  The  Jewish 
tribe  was  not  very  numerous,  but  such  an  internal 
enemy  could  have  done  serious  work,  when  the 
whole  force  which  Mohammed  could  muster  was 
occupied  with  an  external  foe  three  times  its  num- 
ber. Without  authorisation  Huyayy  appears  to 
have  offered  them  hostages  from  the  Meccans  as  a 
pledge  that  the  latter  would  not  leave  them  in  the 
lurch  *  ;  and  by  this  promise  the  head  of  the  tribe, 
Ka'b,  son  of  Asad,  was  induced  to  tear  up  their 
contract  with  Mohammed  :  Zubair,  son  of  'Awwam, 
sent  by  the  latter  to  watch  their  proceedings, 
reported    that    they    were    highly    suspicious.     A 

*  Wakidi  ( W.\  206. 


328  Mohammed 

deputation  of  eminent  Medinese  was  then  sent  by 
the  Prophet  to  urge  the  Kuraizah  to  remain  quiet: 
they  failed  to  produce  any  effect,  but  did  not  inform 
the  Moslems  of  their  failure,  which  they  reserved  for 
Mohammed's  private  ear*;  according  to  a  custom 
of  which  Palgrave's  history  of  the  Wahhabis  gives 
illustrations.  The  Kuraish  were  not  destined,  how- 
ever, to  profit  by  their  alliance  with  the  Jews,  though 
the  latter  seem  to  have  shot  an  occasional  arrow. 
When  the  Kurashite  chief  sent  to  demand  a  vigor- 
ous demonstration  inside  the  city,  once  again  the 
Jewish  tenderness  of  conscience  stood  in  the  way: 
it  was  the  Sabbath,  and  they  could  not  fight  on  that 
day.  It  is  also  asserted  that  a  man  of  the  tribe 
Ashja*,  of  Ghatafan,  named  Nu'aim,  son  of  Mas'ud,  a 
deserter  and  convert,  undertook  to  sow  discord  be- 
tween the  Kuraizah  and  the  Kuraish,  and  persuaded 
the  Kuraizah  to  refuse  to  move  unless  the  Kuraish 
gave  them  the  promised  hostages,  while  on  the  other 
hand  he  assured  the  Kuraish  that  the  purpose  of 
these  hostages  was  to  enable  the  Kuraizah  to  make 
their  peace  with  Mohammed.  In  another  form  of 
the  story  f  the  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  inter- 
mediary is  made  out  to  be  unintentional  and  due  to 
a  lie  told  by  Mohammed  ;  and  this  is  more  likely  to 
be  true  since  Nu'aim  was  unable  to  keep  a  secret,  % 
and  the  Prophet  is  unlikely  in  such  an  emergency  to 
have  trusted  to  his  discretion.  Whichever  story  be 
true,  it  is  evident  that  the  Kuraizah  were  desirous 


*  Wakidi  (  W.\  197. 
\  Isabah,  iii.,  844. 
%  Ibn  Duraid,  168. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  329 

that  other  people  should  fight  their  enemies  for 
them,  and  unwilling  to  risk  their  own  necks.  We 
may  easily  believe  that  during  this  hour  of  stress 
members  of  the  clan  went  about  the  streets  in 
which  the  women  were  entrenched,  exulting  over 
the  disaster  which  was  overtaking  the  Prophet :  nor 
is  there  any  improbability  in  the  story  that  one  of 
those  men  was  killed  by  Safiyyah,  the  Prophet's 
aunt.  Had  they  been  faithful  to  either  the  Prophet 
or  the  Kuraish,  they  would  probably  have  been 
saved,  and  saved  others.  The  course  they  took 
was  that  middle  road  which  inevitably  leads  to 
destruction. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Abu  Sufyan  and  his 
friends  had  any  idea  of  starving  out  the  people  of 
Medinah,  and  indeed  within  their  entrenchment  the 
latter  appear  to  have  been  able  to  carry  on  some 
of  their  normal  industries.  What  finally  drove  the 
Meccans  away  was  bad  weather.  The  cold  nights 
were  too  much  for  them.  The  faint-heartedness  of 
the  Kuraizah  had  communicated  itself  to  their  allies. 
The  trench  had  done  its  work.  The  plan  of  taking 
Medinah  was  abandoned  and  Abu  Sufyan  with  his 
allies  returned  to  their  homes.  The  Moslems  lost 
only  six  martyrs.* 

Mohammed,  it  is  said,  had  spent  most  of  the  time 
of  the  siege  praying,  though  any  advisers  who  had  a 
feasible  plan  to  suggest,  or  who  offered  to  execute 
any  useful  project,  always  found  a  ready  hearing. 
And  when  he  learned   that  his  prayers  had   been 


*  Ishak,   699.    Dhu'l-Ka'dah,   a.h.    5;    identified   with    March- 
April,  a.d.  627. 


330  Mohammed 

answered,  and  the  great  gathering  of  the  Gentiles 
had  dispersed,  he  would  not  put  off  his  armour  be- 
fore he  commenced  the  work  of  vengeance  on  the 
Kuraizah,  and  that  this  vengeance  was  to  be  sum- 
mary was  indicated  by  the  delivery  of  the  standard 
to  the  notorious  AH.  Huyayy,  son  of  Akhtab,  who 
had  organised  the  original  campaign,  loyally  re- 
mained with  the  Kuraizah  in  their  extremity.  The 
Moslem  forces  invested  the  dwellings  of  the  Kurai- 
zah, and  apparently  offered  no  terms  of  any  sort.  By 
the  advice  of  Hubab  Ibn  al-Mundhir,  communi. 
cation  between  the  different  forts  was  cut  off, 
the  Moslems  stationing  themselves  between  them.* 
Little  fighting  seems  to  have  been  attempted  ;  yet 
one  Moslem,  Khallad,  son  of  Suwaid,  is  said  to  have 
been  killed  by  a  millstone  hurled  by  one  of  the  Jew- 
ish women  ;  for  which  inglorious  death  he  was 
promised  a  double  share  of  martyr's  earnings.  The 
story  told  of  the  council  that  was  held  among  the 
besieged  may  be  an  invention  of  the  fancy,  but  it 
probably  gives  a  faithful  picture  of  what  did  take 
place  where  one  or  two  men  were  trying  to  inspire  a 
herd  of  nerveless  followers  with  something  like  reso- 
lution. Should  they  abandon  Judaism  and  become 
Moslems  ?  No,  their  consciences  would  not  permit 
them  to  do  that.  Should  they  make  a  holocaust  of 
their  families  and  possessions  and,  having  thus 
saved  their  honour,  risk  their  lives  in  a  final  en- 
counter? Should  they  then  be  successful,  wives  and 
children  would  easily  be  replaced.  No,  they  could 
not  be  so  cruel.    Then  should  they  try  a  sortie  on  the 

*  Ibn  Sd 'd  II.,  ii.,  109. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  331 

Sabbath,  when  the  Moslem  vigilance  would  probably 
be  relaxed  ?  Oh,  no,  to  violate  the  Sabbath  would 
be  too  shocking !  There  remained  the  plan  of  fall- 
ing at  the  feet  of  the  conqueror  and  supplicating 
mercy.  But  what  mercy  could  they  expect  who  a 
few  days  before  had  been  in  jubilation  over  his  dis- 
tress, and  who  still  refused  the  only  homage  for 
which  he  cared  ? 

At  their  request  a  member  of  their  former  allies, 
the  Aus,  named  Abu  Lubabah,*  at  times  employed  by 
Mohammed  as  lieutenant-governor  of  Medinah,  was 
permitted  to  visit  them,  in  order  to  advise,  and  he 
seems  to  have  told  them  to  hold  out  like  men,  as 
the  Prophet  would  show  no  mercy — sound  advice 
for  which  he  afterwards  atoned  by  tying  himself  to 
a  pillar  of  the  Mosque,  only  to  be  released  by  Mo- 
hammed after  six  days  or  a  fortnight,  when  Allah 
had  revealed  his  pardon.  After  some  four  weeks' 
siege  they  apparently  capitulated  on  condition  that 
their  fate  should  be  decided  by  a  member  of  the 
Aus  —  hoping  doubtless  that  as  favourable  terms 
would  be  procured  for  them  as  the  chief  of  the  Khaz- 
raj  had  three  years  before  procured  for  the  Banu 
Kainuka.  The  man  to  whom  their  fate  was  committed 
was  however  no  half-hearted  partisan  like  Abdallah 
Ibn  Ubayy.  Sa'd  Ibn  Mu'adh,  formerly  a  friend  of 
the  Jewish  tribe,  had  but  a  few  days  before  been 
wounded  during  the  skirmishes  about  the  trench, 
and  was  in  no  merciful  mood.  Three  times  had  his 
median  vein  been  cut  and  cauterised  by  Mohammed, 
the  hand  swelling  more  and  more  in  consequence 

*  Wakidi,  373,  conceals  his  name. 


3?>2  Mohammed 

By  an  act  of  will  he  is  said  to  have  kept  himself  from 
bleeding  to  death  till  he  was  avenged  on  the  Banu 
Kuraizah.*  His  award  was  a  foregone  conclusion. 
The  men  were  to  be  killed,  their  goods  to  be  seized, 
and  the  women  and  children  to  be  enslaved  ;  which  of 
the  lads  were  to  count  as  men  and  which  as  children 
was  determined  by  medical  examination.!  A  great 
trench  was  dug,  into  which  the  Jews  after  decapita- 
tion were  cast.  Such  a  trench,  into  which  the  Mar- 
tyrs of  Najran  had  been  cast,  not  many  years  before, 
had  roused  the  horror  and  indignation  of  the  Prophet, 
to  which  he  gave  expression  in  a  revelation  ;  so  true  it 
is  that  the  acts  which  men  most  abhor  are  those 
which  they  themselves  commit.  Care  was  taken  to 
make  some  of  their  former  allies  assist  in  the  execu- 
tion. The  lives  of  a  very  few  were  begged  of  the 
Prophet  by  their  friends,  who  found  little  difficulty 
in  obtaining  their  request.  Some  of  the  captives 
were  exported  to  Nejd  by  Sa'd,  son  of  Zaid,  of  the 
Banu  Abd  al-Ashhal,  and  arms  and  palm-trees 
obtained  in  exchange.  %  In  order  to  encourage  mo- 
bility, the  few  horsemen  among  the  Moslems  were 
rewarded  with  threefold  shares  of  the  rich  booty — 
two  for  the  horse  and  one  for  the  man.  In  one  case 
at  least  the  gift  of  life  was  not  accepted  by  the  man 
for  whom  it  had  been  granted :  Al-Zabir,  son  of 
Bata,  preferred  to  die  with  the  great  men  of  his 
tribe,   though   his   family   seem   to  have  survived. 


*  Musnad,  Hi.,  350,  363.     Wakidi  (W.\  222,  puts  the  operations 
after  the  massacre. 
\  Isabah,  iii.,  873. 
%Ibid.,  ii.,  152. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  333 

On  Sa'd  son  of  Mu'adh,  who  had  pronounced  the 
doom  of  the  Israelites,  Mohammed  bestowed  the 
highest  compliments  to  which  his  fancy  could  rise. 
He  declared  that  Sa'd's  death,  which  followed 
shortly  after,  shook  the  Throne  of  God  ;  that  the 
room  where  his  body  lay  was  so  crowded  with  angels 
that  a  seat  could  scarcely  be  found ;  and  that  if  any 
Moslem  corpse  might  escape  the  pressure  of  the 
grave,  it  would  be  Sa'd's.*  Years  after  when  a  rich 
robe  was  presented  him  he  declared  that  one  of  the 
kerchiefs  of  Sa'd  in  Paradise  was  superior  to  it.f 

The  facts  as  recorded  by  the  historians  elicit  little 
sympathy  and  little  admiration  for  any  of  the  parties. 
The  great  invasion,  which  Mohammed  declared  to 
have  been  miraculously  frustrated,  was  due  or  believed 
to  be  due,  to  the  propaganda  of  members  of  the  Banu 
Nadir,  whom  the  Prophet  had  been  satisfied  with 
banishing.  Should  he  banish  the  Kuraizah,  he  would 
thereby  be  setting  free  a  fresh  set  of  propagandists. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  who  had  taken  part  openly 
with  the  invaders  of  Medinah  could  not  very  well 
be  permitted  to  remain  there.  To  banish  them  was 
unsafe ;  to  permit  them  to  remain  was  yet  more  dan- 
gerous. Hence  they  must  die.  Only  a  few  of  the 
disaffected  Medinese  were  shocked  by  the  execution. 
And  since  it  would  appear  that  the  Kuraizah  had 
turned  against  the  Prophet  merely  because  he  was  in 
extreme  danger,  having  received  no  fresh  provocation 
from  the  time  when  they  had  lent  him  tools  to  dig 
his  trench,  their  fate,  horrible  as  it  was,  does  not 


*  Musnad,  vi.,  55  (Ayeshah). 
f  J  bid.,  iii.,  207. 


334  Mohammed 

surprise  us.  If  they  had  not  succeeded  in  harming 
him,  they  had  manifested  the  will  to  do  so.  We 
must  also  try,  in  estimating  this  matter,  to  think  of 
bloodshed  as  the  Arabs  thought  of  it:  as  an  act 
which  involved  no  stigma  on  the  shedder.  The 
Prophet  indeed  offered  them  one  more  alternative — 
to  accept  Islam,  and  not  only  preserve  their  lives 
and  possessions,  but  become  one  with  the  conquer- 
ors. Most  stormers  of  cities  have  not  been  willing 
to  sacrifice  to  an  idea  the  whole  fruits  of  victory. 

It  seems  surprising  that  so  very  few  of  the  con- 
quered availed  themselves  of  this  escape.  The  poet 
Jabal,  son  of  Juwal,  is  mentioned  as  one  such  con- 
vert.* Even  a  woman,  Raihanah,  whom  Mohammed 
made  his  slave-concubine,  long  preferred  concubinage 
as  a  Jewess  to  wifedom  as  a  Moslem. 

The  theoretical  love  and  practical  hate  of  Moham- 
med for  the  Jewish  race  is  a  phenomenon  so  easy  to 
illustrate  that  it  scarcely  calls  for  attention.  That  the 
Israelites  were  "  chosen  out  of  the  world  "  is  a  theme 
which  the  Koran  never  tires  of  repeating.  He  used 
to  spend  whole  nights  in  telling  stories  about  the 
Children  of  Israel,f  and  Sprenger  is  probably  right  in 
thinking  that  for  a  long  time  the  dearest  wish  of 
Mohammed's  heart  was  to  be  recognised  by  them. 
Their  failure  to  do  so  at  Medinah  cut  away  the 
ground  on  which  he  had  built  at  Meccah ;  but  it  was 
like  the  temporary  wooden  bridge  which  is  removed 
when  the  stone  fabric,  erected  with  its  aid,  is  com- 
plete.    Each  victory  of  the  Prophet,  and  especially 

*  Isabah,  i.,  453. 
f  Musnad,  iv.,  437. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  335 

each  accession  of  plunder,  rendered  the  arguments 
of  the  expert  Jews  less  and  less  weighty ;  and  after 
the  destruction  of  the  Kuraizah  it  became  a  matter 
of  indifference  to  him  whether  the  Jews  followed 
him  or  not.  The  change  from  a  basis  of  reason  to 
a  basis  of  force  had  taken  place  gradually,  but  now 
was  finally  achieved. 

One  other  party  was  also  given  its  coup  de  grace 
by  the  campaign  of  the  trench.  The  disaffected 
Medinese,  called  in  the  Koran  the  Hypocrites  or  the 
Faint-hearted,  had  given  encouragement  and  futile 
promises  to  the  Banu  Nadir ;  but  they  are  not  men- 
tioned by  trustworthy  authorities  in  connection  with 
the  attack  on  the  Banu  Kuraizah.  They  endeavoured 
to  shirk  the  task  of  digging,  and,  on  the  ground  that 
their  houses  were  exposed,  endeavoured  to  leave  the 
defenders  of  the  trench  and  return  to  their  homes. 
The  unexpected  termination  of  the  campaign  extin- 
guished their  hopes.  If  Mohammed  asserted  that 
the  forces  of  nature  had  taken  his  part,  and  that  the 
Kurashites  had  been  driven  off  by  hosts  of  angels, 
the  event  was  on  his  side.  We  can  but  admire 
his  wisdom  and  forbearance  in  contenting  himself 
with  sarcasms  on  their  behaviour,  delivered  in  the 
Koran,  and  avenging  himself  in  no  more  practical 
way.  To  the  principle,  however,  of  accepting  as 
final  a  man's  utterance  about  Islam,  and  declining  to 
enquire  into  the  sincerity  of  such  profession,  he  finally 
adhered.  Victories  and  success  were  environing 
Islam  with  fame  and  glory ;  and  whereas  the  pro- 
fession of  it  was  at  first  a  matter  of  shame,  it  was 
becoming  a  subject  of  pride. 


336  Mohammed 

The  triumph  over  the  Kuraizah  was  completed  by 
the  assassination  of  Sallam,  son  of  Abu  Hukaik,  one 
of  the  organisers  of  the  late  attack.  He  had  taken 
refuge  at  Khaibar,  and  five  cut-throats  went  with 
the  Prophet's  blessing  to  murder  him  in  his  bed. 
They  were  members  of  the  Khazraj  and  their  pur- 
pose, we  are  told,  was  to  emulate  the  glory  of  the  mur- 
derers of  Ka'b,  son  of  Al-Ashraf,  who  were  members 
of  the  rival  tribe.  The  Jews  of  Khaibar,  when  they 
heard  of  the  fate  of  the  Kuraizah,  had  bethought 
them  for  a  moment  of  uniting  the  whole  Jewish 
population  of  Arabia  in  an  attack  on  Medinah  ;  but 
their  courage  evaporated  very  quickly.* 

Of  the  effect  on  public  opinion  of  the  result  of 
the  whole  campaign  we  have  no  record,  but  it  is 
likely  to  have  been  very  great.  A  victory  won  by 
the  help  of  angels  and  spirits  was  far  more  valuable 
than  a  triumph  secured  by  physical  force.  Those 
who  would  not  rest  quiet  when  defeated  by  mortal 
champions,  feel  no  shame  in  acknowledging  them- 
selves incompetent  to  deal  with  angels.  Whether 
Mohammed,  who  resorted  so  readily  to  the  aid  of  the 
assassin's  dagger,  believed  in  these  supernatural  allies 
we  know  not.  Of  the  Arabs  who  were  disinterested 
spectators,  some  were  sufficiently  thrilled  by  the  Pro- 
phet's success  to  join  him  unsolicited.  Such  an  ac- 
cession was  Abbas,  son  of  Mirdas,  son  of  the  poetess 
Al-Khansa,  and  of  great  renown  in  the  tribe  Sulaim, 
which  extended  over  a  large  portion  of  the  Hijaz. 
This  man,  according  to  one  account,  was,  after  the 
retirement  of  the  Kuraish,  led  by  a  series  of  portents 

*  Wakidi  (  W.),  224. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Jews  337 

to  burn  the  family  idol  and  visit  Mohammed  in 
Medinah;  he  at  first  incurred  the  reproaches  of  his 
tribe,  but  presently  succeeded  in  converting  them  ; 
and  at  the  battle  of  Hunain,  after  the  taking  of 
Meccah,  a  troop  of  a  thousand  men  led  by  Abbas's 
father-in-law,  Dahhak,  succeeded  in  regaining  the 
field. 


CHAPTER   X 

STEPS  TOWARDS  THE  TAKING  OF  MECCAH 

FREED  from  the  controversy  with  the  Jews  and 
the  fear  of  invasion  from  his  older  enemies, 
the  Prophet  could  now  turn  to  schemes  of 
vengeance  and  conquest.  Vengeance  was  necessary 
for  the  treacherous  murder  of  Khubaib  and  his  follow- 
ers by  the  Banu  Lihyan — an  act  precisely  analogous 
to  the  assassinations  authorised  by  the  Prophet ;  but 
whereas  the  Jews  were  incapable  of  retaliation,  the 
Prophet  was  not.  His  strategy  was  similar  to  that 
which  has  proved  successful  in  many  campaigns: 
since  the  Lihyan  dwelt  to  the  south  of  Medinah  the 
Prophet's  expedition  commenced  by  a  march  north- 
ward, on  the  Damascus  road.  At  a  point  called  al- 
Batra  he  turned  to  the  left,  and  came  gradually  back 
to  the  Meccan  highroad,  whence  he  made  a  dash  on 
the  dwellings  of  the  Lihyan,  in  a  valley  called  Ghuran, 
going  westward  from  one  of  the  Harrahs  to  the  sea. 
But  the  Lihyan  had  received  timely  warning  of  his 
approach  and  betaken  themselves  to  inaccessible 
heights  ;  and  there  would  be  nothing  in  their  dwell- 
ings worth  plundering.  The  property  of  tribes  in 
this  condition  consists  entirely  in  live-stock,  which 

338 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah    339 

they  take  with  them  when  either  war  or  stress  of 
weather  compels  them  to  leave  their  houses.      They 
possess  no  furniture  that  cannot  easily  be  loaded  on1 
their  persons  or  on  their  mounts.     The  expedition, 
was  therefore  a  failure. 

Still  they  were  near  Meccah  and  the  Prophet 
thought  a  demonstration  of  force  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  that  city  might  enhance  his  prestige.  He 
accordingly  advanced  with  two  hundred  followers 
sufficiently  near  Meccah  for  the  fame  of  his  expedi- 
tion to  reach  the  ears  of  the  Kuraish. 

The  whole  of  the  sixth  year  was  occupied  with 
expeditions  in  which  sometimes  Mohammed  himself, 
but  more  often  Abu  Ubaidah,  Ali,  and  Zaid  took 
the  command.  They  were  ordinarily  though  not 
invariably  successful ;  and  the  restless  energy  of  the 
Prophet  spread  the  fame  of  Islam  over  a  constantly 
widening  area,  and  won  for  it  the  respect  which 
success  inspires. 

The  campaign  against  the  Banu  Mustalik  in  the 
same  year  (6)*  was  remarkable  for  two  events.  This 
tribe,  a  branch  of  the  Khuza'ah,  led  by  Al-Harith, 
son  of  Abu  Dirar,  appears  to  have  meditated  a  raid 
onMedinah.  Mohammed,  by  the  aid  of  a  spy, learned 
of  their  movements  and  attacked  them  by  Muraisi',  a 
spring  near  th^Boast  between  Medinah  and  Kudaid, 
"  capturing  two  thousand  camels,  five  thousand 
sheep,  and  two  hundred  women  "  f  ;  among  the  last 
Barrah,   a   daughter   of    the    chieftain,   whom    the 

*  Ishak  says  Sha'ban,  a.h.  6,  identified  with  Dec.  627-Jan.  628. 
Wakidi  puts  it  a  year  earlier. 
f  Wakidi (W.),  178. 


340  Mohammed 

Prophet  made  his  wife,  in  order  to  consummate 
his  victory.  The  division  of  the  booty — or  some 
other  incident — nearly  led  to  a  battle  between 
the  Helpers  and  Refugees,  and  the  party  of 
Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy  showed  some  signs  of  re- 
crudescing. It  is  asserted  that  on  this  occasion  the 
dangerous  words,  "  if  we  return  to  Medinah,  the 
stronger  of  us  shall  turn  out  the  weaker,"  were  used. 
The  old  story  of  the  dog  which,  when  pampered, 
bites,  seems  to  have  naturally  suggested  itself  to 
Abdallah  as  an  illustration  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Refugees  towards  the  Helpers.  Omar  would  on 
this  occasion  have  settled  the  difficulty  of  Abdallah 
Ibn  Ubayy  with  his  sword,  but  the  Prophet  would 
not  give  permission,  and  broke  up  his  camp  in  the 
midday  heat,  in  order  that  the  soldiers  in  their 
fatigue  might  forget  this  unpleasantness.*  Presently 
Mohammed  received  a  request  from  the  son  of  the 
Arch-hypocrite  to  be  allowed  to  kill  his  father,  should 
the  act  be  necessary.  Omar  was  forced  to  agree 
that  the  Prophet's  method  was  superior  to  his,  and, 
though  the  crime  of  parricide  was  not  permitted, 
Abdallah's  son  is  said  to  have  treated  his  father  with 
a  dose  of  water  in  which  the  Prophet  had  washed,  in 
the  hope  that  it  might  soften  his  heart.f 

A  yet  more  serious  event  whichfl^rked  the  raid 
on  the  Banu  Mustalik  was  the  disgrace  of  Ayeshah. 
The  last  time  we  met  her  she  was  torn  from  her  play- 
things to  marry  the  Prophet,  for  whom  she  had 
shown  a  childish  and  natural  aversion  ;  having  now 
reached  her  fifteenth  year,  she  had  learned  to  ap- 

*  Wakidi(W.),  182. 

f  Tab.%  Cornm.,  xxviii.,  69. 


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Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah    341 

predate  the  advantages  of  the  post  of  royal  favour- 
ite, and  had  developed  a  haughty  ill-nature  which 
had  made  her  many  enemies.  The  Prophet,  who 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  the  peace  in  his  harem,  had 
adopted  the  plan  of  letting  them  draw  lots  for  the 
honour  of  accompanying  him  on  his  expeditions,  and 
to  Ayeshah  the  lot  had  fallen  on  this  occasion.  She 
had  stopped  behind  (she  said)  when  the  army  was 
starting  homeward  to  pick  up  a  necklace,  which  she 
had  dropped  in  the  sand,  had  been  found  by  a  youth 
named  Safwan,  son  of  Al-Mu'attal,  who  had  also 
loitered,  and  by  him  been  escorted  to  the  camp. 
Why  evil  should  have  been  thought  of  what  seems 
to  us  a  perfectly  natural  occurrence  we  know  not,  but 
we  must  remember  that  the  Moslem  mind  had  by 
this  time  been  somewhat  tainted  by  licentiousness, 
whence  any  meeting  between  persons  of  different 
sex  gave  rise  to  sinister  rumours.  The  supposed  de- 
linquency of  Ayeshah  was  greedily  seized  by  a 
variety  of  persons  ;  some  were  scandal-mongers,  like 
the  cowardly  poet  Hassan  Ibn  Thabit,  who  had 
probably  suffered  from  Ayeshah's  tongue ;  whereas 
others  were  moved  by  interest  in  Ayeshah's  rivals  in 
the  harem,  or  wished  to  use  the  matter  as  political 
capital  for  the  purpose  of  occasioning  the  Prophet 
trouble,  and  in  this  context  the  notorious  Abdallah 
Ibn  Ubayy  is  mentioned.  For  indeed  they  argued 
that  by  punishing  Ayeshah  he  would  necessarily 
offend  his  most  faithful  ally,  her  father,  whereas 
by  condoning  her  offence  he  would  make  himself 
contemptible,  and  give  the  poets  employed  by 
his  enemies  a  handle.     To  hush  up  the  matter  was 


342  Mohammed 

impossible,  and  the  violent  discussions  which  it  pro- 
duced threatened  to  lead  to  civil  war.  Meanwhile 
the  Prophet  had  treated  Ayeshah  with  marked  dis- 
favour, and  permitted  her  to  return  to  her  parents 
— possibly  for  good.  This  last  (divorce)  was  the 
course  recommended  by  Ali,  who  also  endeavoured 
to  get  some  witness  against  her.  Those,  however, 
were  not  wise  who  matched  themselves  in  intrigue, 
either  against  Mohammed  or  against  Ayeshah.  The 
latter,  being  openly  questioned  by  the  Prophet  in  her 
parents'  presence,  indignantly  refused  to  answer  ;  she 
would  follow  the  example  of  Joseph's  father  (she  con- 
fessed that  she  had  forgotten  Jacob's  name),  who 
under  trying  circumstances,  took  refuge  in  "  becom- 
ing patience."  Happily  for  her  the  Prophet  was  no 
Othello,  but  a  man  whose  judgment  was  not  often 
put  out  of  balance.  Even  if  he  believed  Ayeshah 
guilty,  it  was  not  desirable  to  acknowledge  such  sus- 
picion, since  discredit  falling  on  Abu  Bakr  would 
affect  his  own  cause,  even  if  that  faithful  ally  were 
not  alienated.  He  had  recourse  to  a  revelation,  cov- 
ered himself  up,  and  presently  exhibited  himself  in 
a  violent  state  of  perspiration.  While  this  opera- 
tion lasted  the  audience  were  probably  in  a  fever  of 
anxiety  as  to  the  result.  Some  there  doubtless  re- 
membered how  when  a  case  of  adultery  among  the 
Jews  had  been  referred  to  him,  he  had  deliberately 
rejected  the  more  merciful  alternative,  and  con- 
demned the  parties  to  be  stoned  ;  and  even  in  the 
case  of  the  wife  of  one  of  his  followers  he  is  said  to 
have  adhered  to  the  rule.*     Would  this  horrible  fate 


£okhari(C),  ii.,  69. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah    343 

really  befall  the  blooming  girl  who  claimed  the  pre- 
miership in  the  harem,  the  pert  minx,  as  others  called 
her,  who  made  so  many  victims  of  her  laziness  and 
her  caprices,  who  even  made  the  Prophet  feel  that 
he  was  her  father's  debtor  ?  And  had  Islam  extin- 
guished the  natural  instincts  sufficiently  to  allow  her 
father  to  remain  at  the  Prophet's  right  hand,  should 
such  a  disaster  happen  ?  It  was  a  very  dark  cloud, 
but  the  Prophet's  revelation  caused  it  to  clear  away 
— to  break  on  the  heads  of  the  persons  who  had  had 
the  hardihood  to  meddle  in  the  Prophet's  domestic 
affairs.  God  Almighty  declared  Ayeshah  innocent, 
and  protested  against  the  conduct  of  those  who  had 
entertained  the  suspicion  for  a  moment.  The  queenly 
Ayeshah  told  her  husband  that  she  thanked  God, 
but  owed  him  no  thanks.*  Violent  personal  chas- 
tisement was  admistered  to  the  gossips,  including, 
according  to  one  account,  the  court-poet,  Hassan, 
son  of  Thabit;  according  to  another,-)*  he  was  wounded 
by  the  co-respondent  Safwan,  son  of  Mu'attal ;  the 
evidence  of  adultery  to  be  demanded  in  future  was 
of  such  a  sort  as  was  practically  impossible  to  pro- 
cure. The  Prophet's  privacy  was  in  future  to  be 
undisturbed  by  gossiping  tongues.  Ayeshah's  tem- 
porary depression  was  amply  expiated  by  the  honour 
and  glory  of  a  communication  from  Almighty  God 
of  which  the  direct  intention  was  to  clear  her  char- 
acter. And  Ali,  doughty  warrior  as  he  was,  had  won 
for  himself  in  this  girl  an  enemy  whose  vengeance 


*  Musnad,  vi.,  30. 
f  Wakidi(W.\  189. 


344  Mohammed 

followed  him  relentlessly  for  thirty- five  years.*  In 
order  to  disseminate  no  ill-feeling  among  his  follow- 
ers the  Prophet  presently  compensated  Hassan  for 
his  wound  or  his  beating  by  a  present  of  an  estate 
and  a  concubine. 

The  fact  that  Medinah  was  not  safe  from  internal 
foes  suggested  to  the  Prophet  to  take  some  steps  in 
the  direction  of  regaining  Meccah.  In  the  month 
before  the  pilgrimage  month  (March,  628)  he  de- 
termined to  make  an  attempt  to  keep  the  festival 
and  announced  that  God  had  promised  him  in  a 
dream  that  he  should  enter  the  sacred  Mosque. f 
According  to  custom  it  should  have  been  quite  safe 
for  Mohammed  like  any  other  Arab  or  foreigner  to 
make  the  pilgrimage  during  the  sacred  month,  but 
having  violated  the  sacred  month  himself  before  the 
battle  of  Badr,  he  had  forfeited  the  right  which 
every  one  else  enjoyed.  It  is  stated  that  he  issued  a 
proclamation  to  the  Arab  tribes  round  Medinah, 
inviting  them  to  accompany  him  on  this  sacred  ex- 
pedition :  hoping  thereby  to  impress  them  with  the 
fact  that  he  was  bent  on  maintaining  the  national 
religion.  This  appeal  met  with  a  cold  response ;  but 
of  his  followers  in  Medinah  seven  hundred  or  four- 
teen hundred  were  ready  to  go  with  him,  and  they 
started  accordingly,  taking  a  number  of  camels  for 
sacrifice.  These  beasts  were  decorated  for  the  pur- 
pose at  Dhu'l-Hulaifah,  said  to  be  six  miles  from 


*Abu  Bakr  one  day  was  shocked  at  hearing  Ayeshah  addressing 
her  illustrious  husband  in  a  loud  and  shrewish  voice  ;  she  was  taunt- 
ing him  with  preferring  Ali  to  her  father.     Musnad,  iv.,  275. 

j-  Surah  xlviii.,  17. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Mecca h    345 

Medinah ;  he  then  sent  one  of  his  Khuza'ite  spies 
to  find  out  what  the  Meccans  were  doing;  the  spy 
rejoined  him  at  the  pond  of  Ashtat  near  '  Usfan, 
with  news  that  the  Meccans  had  assembled  a  great 
force,  had  posted  a  series  of  scouts  between  the 
Sarawi  and  Baldah,  had  encamped  in  force  at  the 
latter  place,  and  sent  Khalid  with  two  hundred  horse- 
men to  Kura'  al-'Amim.*  On  hearing  of  the  Meccan 
preparation  he  whined  his  regrets  that  the  Meccans 
did  not  leave  him  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Arabs,  in 
which  case  they  might  either  be  rid  of  him  without 
trouble  to  themselves,  or,  without  loss,  join  him  if 
he  proved  successful.  The  possibility  however  oc- 
curred to  him  of  taking  Meccah  by  surprise,  if  he 
approached  it  by  a  circuitous  route,  known  to  few, 
through  the  pass  of  Dhat  al-Hanzal,  which  with  some 
difficulty  his  guides  managed  to  find ;  thence  they 
emerged  at  Hudaibiyah,some  eight  miles  from  Mec- 
cah, to  find  that  the  Meccan  force,  having  obtained 
knowledge  of  his  plans,  was  prepared  to  meet  him. 
The  reason  however  which  he  afterwards  alleged  for 
declining  to  proceed  against  Meccah  was  either  fear 
for  the  fate  of  the  Moslems  who  were  living  (in  re- 
tirement) in  that  city,  or  that  his  camel  had  been 
divinely  stopped  on  the  road  by  the  same  power 
that  had  restrained  the  Ethiopian's  elephant. 

If  however  the  idea  of  storming  Meccah  had  to  be 
given  up,  the  pretence  of  the  pilgrimage  still  re- 
mained ;  and  also  he  was  not  unwilling  to  impress 
the  Meccans  with  a  sense  of  his  might,  wealth,  and 
the  reverence  and  awe  which  he  inspired.     It  is  not 

*  Wakidi  (  W.\  244. 


346  Mohammed 

probable  that  any  actual  engagements  took  place 
between  the  believing  and  unbelieving  parties,  but 
the  Kuraish  sent  repeatedly  to  know  what  Mo- 
hammed wanted,  and  expressed  themselves  deter- 
mined not  to  let  him  inside  their  city  whether  he 
came  as  a  friend  or  as  an  enemy :  while  the  assurances 
brought  them  of  the  Prophet's  pacific  intentions 
were  received  with  extreme  scepticism  by  Budail,  son 
of  Warka,  the  Khuza'ite,  and  'Urwah,  son  of  Mas'ud, 
the  Thakafite  (both  of  them  figures  who  will  meet 
us  in  the  sequel). 

Finally  the  Meccans  sent  the  leader  of  their  allies, 
Hulais,  son  of  'Alkamah,  whom  Mohammed  knew  to 
be  subject  to  religious  scruples.  He  took  care  that 
this  man  should  see  the  sacrificial  camels  and  the 
uncombed  pilgrims;  affected  by  the  sight,  Hulais 
urged  the  Meccans  to  compromise  with  their  unwel- 
come visitors.* 

Presently  it  was  determined  to  send  a  representa- 
tive to  Meccah,  but  the  consciousness  that  most  of  the 
Moslems  were  stained  with  Meccan  blood  rendered 
the  heroes  of  Islam  unwilling  to  risk  their  lives  on 
such  an  errand  ;  even  Omar,  ordinarily  so  ready  with 
his  sword,  hung  back.  At  last  the  Prophet's  son-in- 
law,  Othman,  son  of  'Affan,  who  had  preferred  nurs- 
ing his  wife  to  fighting  at  Badr,  was  sent  as  a  grata 
persona  :  he  stayed  away  some  three  days,  taking 
the  opportunity  to  visit  those  Moslem  families  that 
remained  at  Meccah ;  and  on  a  rumour  that  he  had 
been  killed,  a  solemn  league  and  covenant  was  made 
by  the  Prophet's  followers,  in  which  they  shook  the 

*  Wakidi(W.),  252;  Musnad,  iv.,  323. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah    347 

Prophet's  hand  under  a  tree,  vowing  not  to  turn 
their  backs  should  they  have  to  fight.*  Ma'kil,  son 
of  Yasar,  held  a  branch  over  the  Prophet's  head. 
The  rumour  turned  out  to  be  false.  Othman  had 
succeeded  in  persuading  his  former  townsmen  that 
the  Prophet  really  meant  no  harm,  and  that  there 
was  now  an  opportunity  for  the  communities  to 
make  a  treaty  for  some  years,  since  both  had  suf- 
fered so  much  from  this  continued  warfare.  Proba- 
bly the  Meccans  were  all  the  more  ready  to  listen, 
because  some  of  their  weak-minded  allies  felt  shocked 
at  worshippers  being  debarred  from  doing  honour 
to  God's  holy  house,  and  threatened  to  rebel  if  the 
Kuraish  persisted  in  their  impiety.  They  sent,  as 
plenipotentiary  to  Mohammed,  Suhail,  son  of  'Amr, 
a  man  of  fame  as  an  orator,  who  had  been  captured 
at  Badr  and  ransomed.  He  appears  to  have  regarded 
as  so  much  "  bluff  "  the  display  with  which  Moham- 
med had  endeavoured  to  impress  his  enemies,  and 
obtained  terms  from  the  Prophet  which  made  the 
Moslems  blush — indeed  would  have  made  Omar 
turn  renegade,  could  he  have  found  a  following.f 
The  Prophet  was  not  allowed  to  call  himself  God's 
messenger  in  the  document  which  they  drew  up,  and 
Allah  was  not  suffered  to  be  identified  with  the 
Prophet's  Rahman.  There  was  to  be  peace  between 
the  Kuraish  and  the  Moslems  for  ten  years,  and 
tribes  who  chose  to  enter  the  confederation  of  either 
the  Prophet  or  the  Kuraish  were  to  be  free  to  do  so.J 


*Musnad,  v.,  25  ;  cf.  iii.,  292. 
f  Wakidi{W.)t  255. 
\Ishak,  803. 


348  Mohammed 

Runaways  from  Meccah  to  Medinah  were  to  be  re- 
claimed, but  renegades  who  escaped  to  Meccah  were 
not  to  be  delivered  up.  The  Mohammedan  force  was 
to  return  to  Medinah,  but  in  the  following  year  an  un- 
armed party  of  Moslems  was  to  be  suffered  to  perform 
the  pilgrimage,  for  which  purpose  Meccah  was  to  be 
evacuated  for  three  days.  And  to  show  that  Mo- 
hammed meant  to  be  loyal  to  this  treaty,  no  attempt 
was  made  to  rescue  Suhail's  son,  who,  having  turned 
Moslem,  was  in  chains  at  Meccah.  On  the  night 
which  followed  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  hostilities 
nearly  broke  out,  owing  to  the  reported  murder  by 
the  Meccans  of  a  Moslem  named  Zanim  or  Ibn 
Zanim,  but  the  Prophet  succeeded  in  allaying  the 
disturbances.  *  The  Moslems,  however,  were  sulkily 
silent  when  told  by  him  to  shave  their  heads  and 
offer  their  sacrifices.  At  last  (by  the  advice  of  his 
wife  Umm  Salamah)  he  performed  the  operations 
himself,  and  his  followers  did  the  same.f 

The  motives  which  guided  the  Prophet  through- 
out this  scene  (which  is  described  with  unusual  viv- 
idness by  the  biographers)  can  be  divined.  He 
certainly  submitted  to  humiliation,  since  though  his 
followers  slaughtered  their  camels,  and  shaved  their 
heads,  they  could  only  by  straining  words  be  said  to 
have  entered  the  sacred  precinct  safely.  Moreover, 
the  terms  on  which  the  right  to  pilgrimage  had  been 
conceded  by  the  Kuraish  involved  one  condition 
which  favoured  them  above  the  Moslems — the  clause 
about  the  extradition  of  deserters,  but  then  Moham- 


*  Musnad,  iv. ,  49. 
\Ibid.%  iv.,  325. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah    349 

med  thought  any  who  abandoned  him  were  as  well 
away.  *  Medinah,  he  remarked  in  reference  to  a 
Bedouin  who,  after  experiencing  the  fever,  wished  to 
be  relieved  of  his  oath  of  allegiance,  was  like  a  fur- 
nace which  discharges  the  dross,  while  it  brings  out 
the  purity  of  the  gold,  f  He  also  was  aware  that 
treaties  are  of  little  avail  when  they  can  be  safely 
broken  by  either  party,  and  at  no  time  was  stingy  of 
verbal  concessions.  If  Omar  had  fallen  away,  as  he 
threatened  to  do  several  times  during  those  scenes, 
the  Prophet  could  have  endured  the  loss.  But  the 
Prophet  knew  both  Omar  and  his  other  followers  too 
well  to  fear  such  a  catastrophe ;  and  he  had  in  his 
hand  the  card  of  Khaibar. 

The  chapter  of  the  Koran  which  the  tradition  con- 
nects with  this  episode  adopts  a  triumphant  tone 
which  the  circumstances  would  not  appear  to  justify. 
It  is,  however,  addressed  to  the  Arabs  who  refused 
to  follow  the  expedition,  whom  it  charges  with  ex- 
pecting that  the  Prophet  would  never  return.  It 
asserts  that  the  Moslems  gained  a  victory  over  the 
Kuraish  in  the  Vale  of  Meccah,  and  that  further 
bloodshed  was  then  prevented  by  divine  interposi- 
tion. This  statement  must  have  been  intended  for 
"those  who  were  left  behind."  They  are,  however, 
promised  the  chance  of  a  call  to  arms  against  a 
mighty  power,  and  threatened  with  "  terrible  punish- 
ment "  if  they  refuse  to  obey  it.  Apparently,  then, 
the  tribes  to  whom  he  refers  had  been  experiencing 
the  same  change  in  their  circumstances  as  had  fallen 


*  MusnaJ,  iii.,  268. 
\Ibid.,  iii.,  365. 


350  Mohammed 

to  the  lot  of  the  people  of  Medinah.'  Originally  en- 
tangled in  a  defensive  alliance,  they  were  compelled 
by  force  of  events  to  offer  themselves  for  foreign 
service. 

The  clause  in  the  treaty  whereby  proselyte  Ku- 
rashites  were  to  be  returned  to  Meccah  without  cor- 
responding extradition,  was  shortly  found  to  be  as 
unworkable  as  the  Prophet  had  probably  foreseen 
when  he  accepted  it.  The  pomp  and  parade  of  the 
expedition  to  Hudaibiyah  had  been  effective;  still 
more  the  magnificence  of  the  offerings  to  the  House 
of  God.  When  the  new  religion  led  to  increasing 
reverence  for  the  Meccan  sanctuary,  the  question  of 
the  dogma  interested  few.  The  Kuraish  were  grow- 
ing proud  of  their  kinsman,  and  beginning  to  pay 
him  in  his  own  country  the  honour  which  was  lav- 
ished on  him  elsewhere.  When  this  son  of  Meccah 
was  treated  by  strangers  with  adoration  such  as  no 
earthly  monarch  enjoyed,  were  they  wise  in  continu- 
ing to  repudiate  this  honourable  connexion  ?  'Ut- 
bah,  son  of  Usaid,  escaped  from  Meccah  to  Medinah 
and  was  claimed  back  by  the  Meccans,  who  sent  two 
men  to  fetch  him.  Mohammed  was  true  to  his 
word  and  let  them  take  the  proselyte  back;  but  the 
example  of  'Amr,  son  of  Umayyah,  was  not  lost  on 
the  neophyte  ;  under  the  pretence  of  examining  the 
sword  of  one  of  his  guards,  he  got  hold  of  the  weapon 
and  proceeded  to  attack  his  captor,  upon  which  the 
captor  and  assistant  fled.  Returning  to  Medinah, 
he  received  from  the  Prophet  a  hint  that  if  he  could 
raise  a  gang  of  proselytes  the  treaty  with  Meccah 
might  be  broken ;   and   this  enterprising   Moslem 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Mecca k    351 

found  little  difficulty  in  raising  one,  which  for  a  time 
waylaid  and  robbed  the  Meccan  caravans.  At  last, 
in  despair,  the  Meccans  implored  the  Prophet  to 
break  the  treaty  and  give  these  zealots  a  refuge  in 
Medinah. 

A  certain  number  of  Meccan  ladies  were,  as  might 
be  expected,  moved  by  the  fame  which  the  Prophet 
had  now  acquired,  to  desire  to  join  him  in  his 
place  of  refuge,  sometimes,  perhaps,  in  a  fit  of 
vexation  after  a  conjugal  dispute,*  and  for  these  a 
simple  arrangement  was  made.  To  a  woman  the 
wedding-gift,  a  substitute  for  the  older  purchase- 
money,  constituted  the  most  important  part  of  her 
identity.  If,  therefore,  the  women  remained,  but 
the  wedding-gifts  which  had  been  brought  them  by 
their  unbelieving  husbands  were  returned,  no  sub- 
stantial injustice  had  been  committed.  These  wel- 
come visitors  easily  found  new  ties  at  Medinah, 
though  some  sort  of  examination  \  had  to  be  under- 
gone by  them,  to  test  the  genuineness  of  their  faith; 
perhaps  to  see  that  they  were  not  decoys,  whose 
flight  was  with  the  purpose  of  turning  True  Believers 
away  from  their  faith.  At  a  later  time,  when  the 
Prophet's  weakness  was  generally  known,  fair  women 
either  presented  themselves  or  were  sent  to  him 
from  various  parts  of  Arabia,  or  the  husbands  of  fair 
and  fruitful  women  offered  to  hand  them  over  to 
the  Prophet  %  ;  and  indeed  at  Medinah,  whenever  a 
woman   became   a  widow,  her  relations  would  not 


*  Tabari,  Comm.,  xxviii.,  42. 

\  Sura  A  lx.,  10. 

X  So  'Uyainah,  son  of  Hisn.     Isabah,  iii.,  108. 


352  Mohammed 

find  her  a  husband  before  asking  whether  the  Prophet 
wanted  her.*  An  anecdote  in  which  the  Prophet 
rejects  a  girl  on  the  ground  that  "  she  never  cried 
nor  complained  "  \  shows  the  sort  of  qualifications 
which  he  required  in  a  wife. 

One  other  recruit  who  came  to  Meccah  at  this 
time,  and  at  first  occupied  a  humble  place  among 
the  homeless  in  the  Mosque  of  Medinah,  was  de- 
stined to  occupy  a  remarkable  position  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  Islam.  This  was  Abu  Hurairah,  a  man 
about  whose  origin  and  original  name  there  were 
many  various  opinions — amounting  in  number  to 
from  thirty  to  forty.  When  the  Prophet  was  no 
more,  and  his  sayings  became  precious,  Abu  Hu- 
rairah won  himself  fame  and  importance  by  being 
ready  with  an  inexhaustible  stock  of  them.  His 
place  in  Islam  might  be  compared  with  that  which 
(according  to  some  theories)  the  author  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  occupies  in  the  evolution  of  Christianity. 
Wherever  a  saying  ascribed  to  Mohammed  is  mysti- 
cal or  sublime,  wherever  it  is  worthy  of  a  mediaeval 
saint  or  ascetic,  Abu  Hurairah  is  most  likely  to  be 
the  authority  for  it.  His  wonderful  acquaintance 
with  what  the  Prophet  had  said  excited  some  scep- 
ticism about  its  genuineness  even  in  his  own  time: 
but  he  could  account  for  his  knowledge  partly  by  a 
miracle  wrought  by  the  Prophet,  and  partly  by  the 
assertion  that  when  the  Helpers  were  occupied  with 
their  palms,  and  the  Refugees  with  their  retail 
trade4  he  made  it  his  business  to  hear  and  recollect 

*  Alusnad,  iv.,  422. 
f  Ibid.,  iii.,  155. 
\  Muslim,  ii.,  261. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     353 

what  the  Prophet  said.  The  transformation  of 
Mohammed  in  men's  minds  from  the  character  of 
statesman  and  warrior  to  that  of  saint  and  philan- 
thropist is  due  in  the  main  to  the  inventions  of 
Abu  Hurairah,  the  first  Traditionalist.  His  method 
was  adopted  by  many  Moslems  in  later  ages,  and 
has  probably  done  far  more  good  than  evil :  but  the 
honour  of  inventing  it  appears  to  belong  to  this  in- 
genious convert. 

The  return  of  the  Prophet  from  Hudaibiyah  was 
marked  by  a  slight  success,  illustrating  the  degree  of 
courage  and  competence  which  might  now  be  ex- 
pected from  a  Moslem  fighter.  The  story  may  be 
told  in  the  words  of  the  chief  actor,  who  is  likely 
indeed  to  have  exaggerated  his  achievement,  but 
perhaps  has  not  seriously  misrepresented  the  facts.  * 

"  We  reached  Medinah,"  said  Salamah,  son  of  Al-Akwa', 
"after  Hudaibiyah  with  the  Prophet.  Rubah,  the 
Prophet's  slave,  and  I  took  the  Prophet's  camels  out  to 
pasture,  and  I  also  led  the  horse  of  Talhah,  son  of 
Ubaidallah.  At  dead  of  night  a  raid  was  made  on  the 
camels  by  Abd  al-Rahman,f  son  of  'Uyainah,  who 
killed  the  herdsman,  and  proceeded  to  lift  the  camels 
with  the  aid  of  some  men  mounted  on  horses.  I 
bade  Rubah  mount  the  horse,  ride  it  to  its  owner 
Talhah,  and  inform  the  Prophet  of  the  raid  on  his 
camels.  Mounting  a  hill,  and  turning  my  face  towards 
Medinah,  I  proceeded  to  shout  '  Raid  ! '  three  times  ;  I 
then   went   after  the  raiders  with   my  sword   and   my 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  52,  53.     Others  give  the  event  a  different  date, 
f  This  name,  which  could  only  have  belonged  to  a  Moslem,  is 
incorrect. 


354  Mohammed 

arrows,  and  proceeded  to  shoot  them  down  and  wound 
their  horses.  The  ground  was  here  covered  with  trees, 
and  whenever  a  horseman  turned  upon  me,  I  sat  down 
at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  and  shot  at  the  horse  under  him, 
crying  out  my  name.  When  the  ravine  became  narrow, 
I  got  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  hurled  stones  down  on 
them.  This  went  on  till  I  had  got  every  camel  that 
belonged  to  the  Prophet  behind  my  back,  in  safety. 
This  continued  till  they  had  aimed  thirty  lances  at  me, 
and  thrown  down  thirty  cloaks,  to  lighten  the  burden 
on  their  horses.  On  each  one  of  these  I  threw  a  stone. 
Near  midday  reinforcements  were  brought  them  by 
'Uyainah,  son  of  Badr,  of  the  tribe  Fazarah  ;  the 
enemy  were  in  a  narrow  ravine,  and  I  on  the  mount- 
ain above.  'Uyainah  asked  them  who  I  was,  and  they 
replied  that  I  had  been  giving  them  great  trouble  and 
had  rescued  from  them  all  their  plunder.  'Uyainah 
said  that  I  must  certainly  have  some  reinforcements 
behind  me,  or  else  I  should  have  let  them  alone.  Four 
men  then  at  his  command  climbed  the  mountain  to 
attack  me.  When  I  had  told  them  who  I  was,  I  also 
assured  them  that  not  one  of  them  could  come  up  with 
me  or  outrun  me  if  I  followed  him.  One  of  them  re- 
plied, '  I  think  otherwise,'  but  at  that  moment  I  saw 
some  of  the  Prophet's  horsemen  entering  the  wood. 
The  first  were  Al-Akhram  of  the  tribe  Asad,  followed 
by  Abu-Katadah,  the  Prophet's  best  horseman,  followed 
by  Al-Mikdad.  The  enemy  immediately  turned  their 
backs  and  fled.  I  ran  down  the  hill,  and  seizing  Al- 
Akhram's  rein,  bade  him  be  careful,  as  the  enemy 
might  cut  him  off.  He  had  better  wait,  I  said,  till  the 
Prophet  and  the  rest  of  his  followers  had  come  up. 
1  Salamah,'  he  replied,  *  if  you  believe  in  God  and  the 
last  day,  and  know  that  the  Garden  is  real  and  the  Fire 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah    355 

real,  then  do  not  stand  between  me  and  martyrdom.' 
So  I  let  go  his  rein,  and  he  galloped  up  to  Abd  al- 
Rahman,  son  of  'Uyainah,  who  turned  upon  him,  and 
the  two  exchanged  sword-thrusts,  in  which  Al-Akhram 
was  killed,  and  Abd  al-Rahman's  horse  disabled.  Abd 
al- Rahman  leapt  on  Al-Akhram's  horse,  but  was  im- 
mediately attacked  by  Abu  Katadah,  and  this  time  Abd 
al- Rahman  was  killed,  and  Abu  Katadah's  horse  dis- 
abled. Abu  Katadah  leapt  on  Al-Akhram's  horse,  but 
meanwhile  I  ran  on  far  in  front  of  my  friends,  and  drove 
the  enemy  by  my  arrows  from  a  well  at  which  they  had 
intended  watering,  called  Dhu  Karad,  and  seized  two 
of  their  horses  which  I  brought  to  the  Prophet,  who  had 
now  come  up  with  five  hundred  men.  I  then  begged 
the  Prophet  for  a  hundred  men,  promising  to  overtake 
and  annihilate  the  whole  of  the  enemy  with  them. 
But  before  I  could  start,  news  reached  the  Prophet  that 
they  had  rested  in  the  Ghatafan  country,  where  a  chief 
had  slaughtered  a  camel  to  entertain  them  ;  but  finding 
the  flesh  of  the  camel,  when  flayed,  to  be  ashy  in  colour, 
they  had  been  alarmed  by  the  omen,  and  fled  hurriedly 
to  their  homes.  The  Prophet  thereupon  assigned  me  a 
foot-soldier's  as  well  as  a  horseman's  share  of  the  spoil, 
and  set  me  on  his  camel  behind  him,  as  we  returned  to 
Medinah." 

Each  time  the  Prophet  had  failed,  or  scored  an  in- 
complete success,  he  compensated  for  it  by  an  attack 
on  the  Jews ;  the  policy  had  served  too  well  to  be 
abandoned  after  the  unsatisfactory  affair  of  Hudai- 
biyah,  and  therefore  a  raid  on  the  Jews  of  Khaibar 
was  speedily  planned.*  Khaibar  was  famous  as  the 
richest  village  in  the  Hijaz  ;  it  would  appear  from  its 

♦Muharram,  a.h.  7,  identified  with  June,  A.D.  628. 


356  Mohammed 

name  (Hebrew,  "community  ")  to  have  been  origin- 
ally a  Jewish  settlement ;  it  is  divided  from  Medinah 
by  about  a  hundred  miles  chiefly  of  harrak,  or  lava- 
formation.*  Rarely  visited  by  Europeans,  it  was 
the  residence  of  the  great  explorer  Doughty  for  some 
months  in  the  year  1877.  The  oasis  at  the  edge  of 
which  it  is  situated  is  luxuriantly  fertile,  and  was 
skilfully  cultivated  by  the  Jews.  But  the  place  was 
also  well  fortified  ;  many  names  of  fortresses  are 
mentioned  by  Ibn  Ishak  ;  some  parts  of  the  old  forti- 
fications remaining  to  this  day.  The  Hisn,  or  citadel 
rock  of  basalt,  stands  solitary  in  the  Wadi  Zeydieh  ; 
and  upon  its  southern  skirt  is  built  the  clay  village. 
The  length  of  the  walled  platform  is  two  hundred 
paces,  and  the  breadth  ninety.  Mohammed  by  this 
time  knew  the  Jews  too  well  to  fear  that  there  would 
be  any  difficulty  in  storming  their  fortifications,  how- 
ever strong.  Following  the  principle  of  his  raid 
after  Uhud,  he  only  permitted  those  to  accompany 
him  who  had  shared  the  expedition  to  Hudaibiyah. 
The  route  which  he  followed  required  three  days; 
the  names  of  the  places  at  which  he  rested  are  pre- 
served by  the  biographers  but  seem  otherwise  to  be 
unknown. 

Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy  (whose  name  the  Jews  must  by 
this  time  have  heard  with  curses)  is  said  to  have  sent 
word  to  the  inhabitants  of  Khaibar  of  the  coming 
storm  ;  and  the  Jews,  from  whom  this  could  scarcely 
have  been  concealed  in  any  case,  sent  to  the  Ghatafan 
tribes,  whose  home  was  in  their  neighbourhood,  re- 
questing their  aid.     Mohammed,  whose  guides  were 

*  Doughty,  i.,  73. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     357 

skilful  men  of  the  tribe  Ashja',  succeeded  in  finding 
his  way  between  the  Ghatafan  and  Khaibar,  and,  by 
a  feigned  attack  on  the  possessions  of  the  former, 
averting  the  danger  of  a  confederation.  It  would 
seem  that  cordial  assistance  was  rarely  extended  to 
the  Israelites,  who,  as  has  been  seen,  regularly  aban- 
doned each  other  to  destruction. 

The  Prophet's  prayer  on  the  occasion  of  this  raid 
is  faithfully  recorded.  His  God  had  by  this  time  ac- 
quired the  chief  attributes  of  the  Roman  Laverna 
or  goddess  of  gain  ;  and  he  prayed  that  rich  booty 
might  be  accorded  them.  Indeed  it  is  probable  that 
he  had  already  pledged  God's  word  for  the  success 
of  the  expedition  ;  when  he  published  his  revelation 
about  Hudaibiyah,  God  had  promised  them  much 
plunder,  and  was  giving  this  (*.  e.,  Khaibar)  at  once. 
This  raid  on  a  town  so  distant  as  one  hundred  miles 
from  Medinah,  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that  which 
his  previous  raids  had  taken,  shows  that  he  already 
contemplated  the  conquest  of  Arabia,  if  not  of  the 
world. 

Wakidi  has  given  a  long  account  of  the  siege,  and 
the  Jews  appear  to  have  defended  themselves  better 
than  might  have  been  expected.  Some  accounts 
protract  it  for  a  couple  of  months,  during  the  first  of 
which  the  Jews  are  supposed  to  have  been  aided  by 
their  Arab  allies;  who,  however,  took  the  opportun- 
ity of  quitting  on  a  rumour  reaching  them  that  their 
homes  were  attacked.  The  Jewish  forts  held  out 
well — over  one  called  Sa'b  many  lives  were  lost. 
Some  of  the  Khaibar  Jews  even  won  respect  for 
their  fighting  powers  ;  one  Marhab,  before  he  died, 


358  Mohammed 

killed  the  brother  of  the  assassin  Mohammed,  son  of 
Maslamah,  to  perish  afterwards  by  that  assassin's 
hand ;  not,  it  would  seem,  in  fair  fight,  but  when 
Khaibar  had  surrendered,  the  prisoner  was  handed 
over  to  Mohammed  Ibn  Maslamah,  and  slain  by 
him  * 

As  time  went  on,  the  Moslem  army  was  near 
having  to  retire  for  want  of  food.  However,  there 
were  traitors  among  the  Jews  of  Khaibar,  and  with 
their  assistance  some  forts  were  stormed  ;  and  other 
traitors  even  revealed  to  the  Moslems  the  place 
where  siege  machinery  was  hidden  and  instructed 
the  enemy  in  its  use.f  Presently  Mohammed  be- 
thought him  of  the  plan  which  presently  became 
a  prominent  institution  of  Islam.  To  kill  or  banish 
the  industrious  inhabitants  of  Khaibar  would  not 
be  good  policy,  since  it  was  not  desirable  that  the 
Moslems,  who  would  constantly  be  wanted  for  active 
service,  should  be  settled  so  far  from  Medinah. 
Moreover  their  skill  as  cultivators  would  not  equal 
that  of  the  former  owners  of  the  soil.  So  he  deci- 
ded to  leave  the  Jews  in  occupation,  on  payment  of 
half  their  produce,  estimated  by  Abdallah,  son  of 
Rawahah4  at  two  hundred  thousand  wasks  of  dates. 
These  Jews  of  Khaibar  were  then  to  be  the  first 
dhimmis,  or  members  of  a  subject  caste,  whose  lives 
were  to  be  guaranteed,  but  whose  earnings  were  to 
go  to  support  the  True  Believers.  Later  on  the  fanatic 
Omar  drove  out  the  poor  cultivators  whom  the  Pro- 


*  Isabah,  iii.,  788. 
f  Wakidi  (  fV.),  269. 
\Musnad,  iii.,  367. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     359 

phet  had  spared.  Meanwhile  the  Jews,  though  they 
retained  their  lives  and  lands,  forfeited  their  goods 
— all  save  their  Rolls  of  the  Law.  How  else  could 
Allah's  pledge  be  redeemed  ?  The  dhimmis  or  sub- 
ject races  derived  their  name  from  the  relation  of 
client  to  patron,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  of 
great  consequence  in  Arabia ;  the  client  being  ordi- 
narily a  man  who,  for  some  reason  or  other,  put 
himself  under  the  protection  of  a  tribe  not  his  own, 
which,  doubtless  for  some  consideration,  defended 
him  from  his  enemies.  Thus  the  Moslems  under- 
took to  protect  and  fight  for  the  non-Moslem  races 
who  acknowledged  their  supremacy,  though  they 
rejected  their  Prophet.  Severe  penalties  were 
threatened  against  Moslems  who  killed  members  of 
those  protected  communities.*  His  recognition  of 
the  principle  that  a  money  payment  would  serve 
instead  of  a  religious  test  shows  us  how  little  of  a 
fanatic  the  Prophet  was  at  heart. 

The  taking  of  Khaibar  was  marked  by  two  events 
which,  though  of  no  permanent  importance,  make 
the  scene  vivid.  Huyayy,  son  of  Akhtab,  had  been 
the  Prophet's  most  earnest  adversary  among  the 
Jews,  and  had  been  assassinated,  as  has  been  seen, 
by  Mohammed's  order.  His  daughter  "Safiyyah,"f 
was  married  to  Kinanah,  grandson  of  one  Abu'l- 
Hukaik,  like  her  father  one  of  the  Nadirites  who 
had  taken  refuge  at  Khaibar.     The  Prophet's  greed 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  237,  etc. 

f  This  word  means  "  titbit,"  i.  e.,  an  article  specially  selected  by 
the  conqueror  out  of  the  booty.  It  is  unlikely  to  have  been  the 
woman's  real  name. 


360  Mohammed 

was  excited  by  the  thought  of  some  rich  silver  vessels 
which  Safiyyah's  father  had  owned,  and  which  had 
been  the  glory  of  his  house.  The  family  were  told 
to  bring  out  all  their  possessions  and  conceal  nothing, 
under  pain  of  execution.  Those  vessels  they  were 
as  anxious  to  save  as  was  the  Prophet  to  rob  them : 
they  concealed  them,  and  vowed  that  they  had  been 
sold  or  melted  down  long  before.  The  angel  Gabriel 
revealed  to  the  Prophet  where  they  were — not  a 
difficult  thing  to  reveal,  as  we  know  from  I  Promessi 
Sposi:  the  practised  pillager  knows  what  are  the  pos- 
sibilities of  concealment  in  the  case  of  a  besieged 
house ;  he  knows  the  secrets  which  are  revealed  by 
the  newly  upturned  soil,  the  disordered  brickwork, 
the  cobwebs  or  dust  that  have  been  cleared  away. 
Some  precious  things  had  been  concealed  perhaps 
when  Medinah  was  besieged ;  and  men  act  in  these 
matters  instinctively  or  uniformly,  like  ants.  But 
the  production  of  the  cups  meant  death  to  the 
men,  and  captivity  to  the  women.*  Safiyyah  was 
invited  to  accept  Islam  and  become  the  bride  of 
the  murderer  of  her  father,  her  husband,  and  her 
brothers,  of  the  treacherous  enemy  who  had  all  but 
exterminated  her  race,  and  she  accepted  the  offer. 
Some  Moslems  paid  her  the  compliment  of  thinking 
she  meant  to  play  a  Judith's  part,  but  they  did  her 
more  than  justice.      Just  as  the  Jewish  tribes  had 

*  So  Wakidi  ;  but  Wakidi  ( W.)  and  Ibn  Ishak  make  another  Jew- 
betray  the  hiding-place  ;  after  which  Kinanah  is  tortured  by  Al- 
Zubair,  and  killed  by  Mohammed,  son  of  Maslamah.  The  Kurds 
still  endeavour  to  wrench  treasure  out  of  their  captives  by  similar 
means.  In  Musnad,  iii.,  123,  the  story  of  Safiyyah  is  told  in  a 
manner  that  is  inconsistent  with  the  above. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     36 1 

each  played  for  its  own  hand,  careless  of  the  fate  of 
the  others,  so  to  this  woman  a  share  in  the  harem  of 
the  conqueror  made  up  for  the  loss  of  father,  hus- 
band, brethren,  and  religion.  So  Beckwourth  found 
that  a  few  hours  were  sufficient  to  reconcile  the 
American  squaws  to  captivity.  Dragged  from  the 
blood-baths  in  which  their  husbands,  fathers,  and 
brothers  perished,  they  in  a  little  time  became 
cheerful  and  even  merry.* 

Another  Jewess,  Zainab,  the  wife  of  Sallam,  son 
of  Mishkam,  who  figures  as  a  partisan  of  Mo- 
hammed, tried  with  partial  success  a  plan  which 
others  had  attempted — to  fail  entirely.  She  found 
out  what  joint  was  the  Prophet's  favourite  food,  and 
cooked  it  for  him,  richly  seasoned  with  poison.  The 
Prophet's  guest,  Bishr,  son  of  Al-Bara,  took  some 
and  swallowed  it ;  and  presently  died  in  convulsions. 
The  Prophet  bethought  him  in  time  of  the  enemies 
who  bring  gifts ;  and  spued  the  morsel  before  it 
passed  down  his  throat,  and  had  his  shoulder  bled 
at  once,  as  a  means  of  excreting  the  poison. f  But 
when  three  years  after  he  died  of  fever,  he  thought 
it  was  Zainab's  poison  still  working  within  him, 
and  among  his  other  honours  could  claim  that  of 
martyrdom. 

When  the  Moslems  came  to  apportion  their  spoils 
they  found  that  the  conquest  of  Khaibar  surpassed 
every  other  benefit  that  God  had  conferred  on  their 
Prophet.  The  leader's.one  fifth  enabled  him  to  enrich 
his  wives  and  his  concubines,  his  daughters  and  their 

*  Autobiography,  pp.,  147,  180,  296,  297. 
\  Isabah,  iv.,  400. 


362  Mohammed 

offspring,  his  friends  and  acquaintance,  down  to  the 
servants.  Eighteen  hundred  lots  were  portioned  out 
for  the  fourteen  hundred  fighters  ;  the  two  hundred 
horsemen  got,  according  to  custom,  treble  lots.  To 
one  flatterer,  Lukaim  the  'Absite,  as  a  reward  for 
some  felicitous  verses,  all  the  sheep  of  Khaibar 
were  assigned.  Moreover  there  was  no  fear  of 
this  wealth  melting  away  as  the  former  booty  had 
melted ;  for  the  Jews  remained  to  till  the  land 
which  became  the  property  of  the  robbers.  The 
news  of  the  victory  alarmed  the  neighbouring  settle- 
ment of  Fadak:  its  people  sent  to  the  Prophet  half 
their  produce,  ere  he  came  and  took  away  their  all : 
and  he  accepted  it,  for  thus  the  whole  profit  fell  to 
him,  since  it  had  been  won  without  sword  or  lance. 
The  rich  Wadi  al-Kura,  the  chief  oasis  of  the  Hijaz, 
also  after  a  brief  struggle  fell  into  his  hands ;  and 
the  Jews  of  Taima  accepted  the  same  conditions  as 
the  others.* 

The  taking  of  Khaibar  marks  the  stage  at  which 
Islam  became  a  menace  to  the  whole  world.  True, 
Mohammed  had  now  for  six  years  lived  by  robbery 
and  brigandage :  but  in  plundering  the  Meccans 
he  could  plead  that  he  had  been  driven  from  his 
home  and  possessions  :  and  with  the  Jewish  tribes  of 
Medinah  he  had  in  each  case  some  outrage,  real  or 
pretended,  to  avenge.  But  the  people  of  Khaibar, 
all  that  distance  from  Medinah,  had  certainly  done 
him  and  his  followers  no  wrong:  for  their  leaving 
unavenged  the  murder  of  one  of  their  number  by  his 
emissary  was  no  act  of  aggression.     Ali,  when  told 

*  Wakidi{W.\  292. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     363 

to  lead  the  forces  against  them,  had  to  enquire 
for  what  he  was  fighting :  and  was  told  that  he 
must  compel  them  to  adopt  the  formulae  of  Islam.* 
Khaibar  was  attacked  because  there  was  booty  to 
be  acquired  there,  and  the  plea  for  attacking  it  was 
that  its  inhabitants  were  not  Moslems.  That  plea 
would  cover  attacks  on  the  whole  world  outside  Medi- 
nah  and  its  neighbourhood  :  and  on  leaving  Khaibar 
the  Prophet  seemed  to  see  the  world  already  in  his 
grasp.  This  was  a  great  advance  from  the  early 
days  of  Medinah,  when  the  Jews  were  to  be  tolerated 
as  equals,  and  even  idolators  to  be  left  unmolested, 
so  long  as  they  manifested  no  open  hostility.  Now 
the  fact  that  a  community  was  idolatrous,  or  Jewish, 
or  anything  but  Mohammedan,  warranted  a  murder- 
ous attack  upon  it :  the  passion  for  fresh  conquests 
dominated  the  Prophet  as  it  dominated  an  Alex- 
ander before  him  or  a  Napoleon  after  him. 

He  was  joined  at  Khaibar  by  the  Abyssinian  re- 
fugees, and  declared  the  arrival  of  some  of  them  to  be 
more  welcome  to  him  than  even  the  taking  of  Khai- 
bar. There  were  sixteen  men  and  about  the  same 
number  of  women,  for  whom  the  Abyssinian  mon- 
arch had  provided  two  vessels  :  we  suppose  that 
after  the  massacre  of  the  Kuraizah  the  Prophet  had 
sent  for  them,  having  no  lack  of  land  to  offer  them ; 
forwarding  as  a  present  to  the  Abyssinian  King 
a  silken  jubbah — a  robe  which  had  been  presented 
him  by  a  monkf — perhaps  out  of  respect  for  the 

*  Muslim ,  ii.,  237.  On  the  other  hand  in  WakidVs  narrative  the 
people  of  Khaibar  are  made  out  to  have  been  planning  attacks  on 
Medinah. 

f  Musnad,  iii.  3.37, 


364  Mohammed 

man  who  had  massacred  so  many  Jews.  Of  the 
Abyssinian  refugees  not  a  few  had  ended  their  lives 
in  exile  :  one  had  turned  Christian,  telling  his  fellows 
that  his  eyes  were  fully  opened,  while  theirs  were 
still  half  closed.  Until  his  death  the  Abyssinian 
King  maintained  friendly  relations  with  Moham- 
med :  but  the  well-meant  hospitality  of  the  Chris- 
tian won  no  favour  for  his  co-religionists  when 
the  process  of  rapine  had  reached  Christian  fron- 
tiers. Perhaps  a  man  would  never  rise  high  un- 
less he  turned  away  each  ladder  whereby  he  had 
ascended  :  others  coming  after  might  overtake  him. 
When  the  homily  which  had  originally  won  the 
Christian's  favour  was  incorporated  in  the  Koran, 
fresh  texts  were  inserted,  condemning  the  Christian 
theory  of  their  Master's  nature  in  no  ambiguous 
terms.  The  doctrine  of  the  Son  of  God  was  branded 
as  a  blasphemy  sufficient  to  cause  an  earthquake  or 
general  convulsion  of  the  universe.  Hence  Christ- 
ians might  with  impunity  be  plundered.  And  in- 
deed a  Christian  living  at  Medinah  was  summoned 
to  adopt  Islam  on  pain  of  forfeiting  half  his  goods.* 
About  the  time  of  the  campaign  of  Khaibar  he 
published  his  programme  of  world-conquest  by  send- 
ing letters  to  the  rulers  of  whose  fame  he  had  heard. 
Being  told  that  such  letters  must  be  sealed,  he  had  a 
seal  of  silver  made,  with  the  words  "  Mohammed  the 
Prophet  of  God  "  inscribed  thereon  on  an  Abyssin- 
ian stone.f  This  seal  is  said  to  have  adorned  the 
finger  of  his  three  successors,  till  the  last  of  them  let 

*  Isabah,  i.,  482. 
f  Muslim,  ii.,  158. 


JfrjiJU     leuJ  t    ^ai-U    ^^   Jl/      il4)^ 

,jb  ^  t  tTHLk^A  ...... 


LETTER  OF  THE  PROPHET  TO  THE  "MUKAUKIS,"    DISCOVERED  BY 
M.  ETIENNE  BARTHE*LEMY;  BELIEVED  BY  SEVERAL  SCHOLARS 
TO  BE  THE  ACTUAL  DOCUMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  THE  TEXT. 
From  the  "Hilal,"  Nov.,  1904. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     365 

it  drop  into  a  well.  Learning  further  that  douceurs 
should  be  given  to  foreign  ambassadors,  he  started  a 
state  chest,  reserving  part  of  the  tribute  from  Khai- 
bar  for  this  and  other  extraordinary  expenditure.* 
The  following  is  a  specimen  of  those  letters — accord- 
ing to  the  tradition  f  : 

In  the  name  of  Allah  the  Rahman,  the  Merciful. 
From  the  Apostle  of  Allah  to  the  Mukaukis,  chief  of 
the  Copts.  Peace  be  upon  him  who  follows  the  guid- 
ance. Next,  I  summon  thee  with  the  appeal  of  Islam: 
become  a  Moslem  and  thou  shalt  be  safe.  God  shall 
give  thee  thy  reward  twofold.  But  if  thou  decline  then 
on  thee  is  the  guilt  of  the  Copts.  O  ye  people  of  the 
Book,  come  unto  an  equal  arrangement  between  us  and 
you,  that  we  should  serve  none  save  God,  associating 
nothing  with  Him,  and  not  taking  one  another  for  Lords 
besides  God.  And  if  ye  decline,  then  bear  witness  that 
we  are  Moslems. 

How  many  of  his  letters  ever  reached  their  de- 
stination we  know  not.  Arabic  and  Greek  J  writers 
agree  in  making  628  the  year  in  which  Mohammed's 
letter  reached  Heraclius,  though  the  following  year 
would  agree  better  with  the  tradition  that  he  received 
it  in  Emesa,  or  at  Jerusalem,  whither  he  had  gone  on 
pilgrimage  to  give  thanks  for  his  great  victories  ;  and 
both  give  fabulous  accounts  of  the  result.  Yet  the 
story  told  by  the  Arabs,  if  it  be  false,  contains  no 

*  Afusnad,  iv.,  37. 

f  Husn  aLMuhadarah,  i.,  47  (new  ed.).  The  document  of  which 
a  facsimile  is  given  contains  this  text.  If  Dr.  Butler's  theory  be 
correct  (see  below)  it  must  certainly  be  spurious. 

X  Muralt,  Essai  de  Chronologie  Byzantine,  gives  the  date  as  April, 
628.     Cp.  also  Drapeyron,  L EmpSreur  Heraclius,  Paris,  1869. 


366  Mohammed 

chronological  errors.  Heraclius,  according  to  this 
account,  receiving  the  letter  of  Mohammed  at  the 
hands  of  the  handsome  Dihyah,  in  whose  form  the 
angel  Gabriel  was  accustomed  to  appear,*  asked 
whether  any  of  the  Prophet's  countrymen  could  be 
found  in  Syria.  It  was  the  time  of  truce  between 
Meccans  and  Moslems :  hence  Abu  Sufyan,  son  of 
Al-Harith,  f  was  quite  near  at  Gaza.  He  was  sum- 
moned to  the  presence  of  the  Emperor  to  explain 
the  conduct  of  his  kinsman :  and  gave  answers 
which,  without  any  intention  on  Abu  Sufyan's  part, 
effected  the  Emperor's  conversion,  which  only  fear  of 
his  subjects  forced  him  to  conceal.  This  story,  vari- 
ously embellished,  is  supposed  to  go  back  to  Abu 
Sufyan  himself,  who  was  deeply  impressed  by  the 
terror  which  Mohammed's  name  inspired  in  the  Em- 
peror of  the  Greeks  :  of  the  ultimate  success  of  Islam 
he  now  became  convinced.  What  elements  of  truth 
lie  hid  in  this  anecdote  it  is  hard  to  discover.  The 
coincidence  of  Abu  Sufyan  being  in  Syria,  which 
is  likely  to  be  historical,  was  sufficient  to  produce 
the  fabrication  of  his  being  summoned  to  give  an 
account  of  his  famous  countryman.  Had  he  really 
been  summoned,  he  could  scarcely  have  lost  the 
opportunity  of  endeavouring  to  obtain  help  for  Mec- 
cah  against  the  dangerous  exile  ;  of  pointing  out  the 
menace  to  the  neighbouring  provinces  which  was 
contained  in  the  rise  of  the  Moslem  power.     And  in- 


*  Isabah,  i.,  973. 

fSo  Wakidi  {W.),  329,  n.  In  the  story  Abu  Sufyan  is  repre- 
sented as  a  near  relation  of  Mohammed,  which  does  not  suit  the 
more  famous  Abu  Sufyan  so  well. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Mecca h     367 

deed  according  to  one  story  *  Abu  Sufyan  accused 
the  Prophet  before  Heraclius,  but  his  charge  was  an- 
swered by  a  poet  named  A'sha  of  Kais.  Probably 
the  missive  in  an  unknown  tongue  was  thought  un- 
worthy of  the  monarch's  notice.  How  many  luna- 
tics in  our  time  worry  royal  personages  with  their 
inspirations !  Or,  if  its  reception  was  really  favour- 
able, we  know  of  one  tie  between  Mohammed  and 
the  Emperor  which  may  have  secured  it.  To  He- 
raclius, fresh  from  a  massacre  of  Jews,  came  the 
news  of  a  Prophet  in  Arabia  who  had  slaughtered 
six  hundred  Jews  in  one  day  ;  who,  having  ruined 
their  settlements  at  Medinah,  had  just  brought  deso- 
lation on  their  greatest  and  most  flourishing  colony, 
killing  the  men  and  making  the  women  concubines. 
His  claims  to  a  divine  mission  might  seem  plausible, 
till  for  Jews  Christians  came  to  be  substituted. 

Another  letter  was  sent  to  the  Persian  King, — 
according  to  the  tradition, — whom  Heraclius  had  de- 
feated, and  who  was  presently  to  be  slain  by  his  own 
son.  The  date  of  this  King's  death  is  given  with 
great  appearance  of  precision  f — Tuesday,  the  tenth 
of  Jumada  I  of  the  year  7  \  :  some  three  months  after 
Khaibar  had  been  taken.  The  Persian  King  is  re- 
presented as  treating  the  Prophet's  message  far  other- 
wise than  Heraclius  :  he  tore  it  in  pieces,  and  sent 
to  the  governor  of  Yemen  to  bring  him  the  slave 
who  dared  to  send  such  a   letter  to  his   suzerain. 

*  Aghani,  xv.,  58. 

f  Diyarbekri,  ii.,  39. 

\  The  true  date  was  Feb.  29,  A.D.  628  (Noldeke,  Sas.,  432  ;  Ger- 
land,  Persische  FeUzilge  des  Kaiser  s  Herakldos).  The  above  is 
identified  with  Sep.  15,  a.d.  628. 


368  Mohammed 

That  official's  messengers  went  first  to  Ta'if,  whence 
the  inhabitants,  overjoyed  at  the  thought  that  Mo- 
hammed had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Great 
King,  sent  them  on  to  Medinah.  There  the  Prophet 
received  them  not  without  reluctance,  owing  to  their 
having  after  their  national  style  shaved  their  beards 
and  let  their  moustaches  grow*;  whereas  his  own 
practice  was  the  converse.  While  they  were  parley- 
ing with  the  Prophet  the  news  reached  them  of  their 
master's  death ;  and  they  had  to  wait  for  further  or- 
ders. These  were  that  they  should  leave  the  Prophet 
unmolested. 

The  environment  of  this  story  is  even  more 
mysterious  than  that  of  the  other :  in  each  form 
of  it  the  Prophet  announces  the  death  of  the  Persian 
King  at  the  time  when  it  actually  took  place,  and 
thereby  makes  the  emissaries  hesitate  to  arrest  him 
till  they  had  verified  his  statement :  so  poor  was  the 
discipline  maintained  among  the  Persian  King's  re- 
tainers. Now,  that  Mohammed  had  many  secret 
agencies  for  obtaining  intelligence  speedily  cannot 
be  doubted  :  but  that  the  messengers  would  have 
refrained  from  doing  their  duty  in  consequence  of 
such  an  assertion  we  do  not  believe.  If,  however, 
the  date  of  the  Persian  King's  death  be  correct,  the 
story  will  hang  together  best  if  we  suppose  that  amid 
the  confusion  arising  from  the  assassination  of  the 
King,  this  seemingly  unimportant  matter  was  over- 
looked. The  message  was  either  never  delivered,  or 
never  answered. 


*  Ibn  Arabi,  Musamarat,  ii.,  73.  According  to  him  the  families  of 
the  messengers  were  extant  in  Yemen  in  his  time  (7th  century  a.h.) 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     369 

Another  letter  was  to  the  "  Mukaukis  "  of  Egypt, 
or  to  the  governor  of  Alexandria,  wrongly  identified 
by  the  Arab  chroniclers  with  Cyrus,  viceroy  and 
archbishop  at  the  time  of  the  Arab  invasion,  called 
by  the  Copts  Pkauchios.*  What  is  certain  is  that 
the  letter,  to  whomsoever  addressed,  had  a  favour- 
able reception :  for  the  Mukaukis  sent  handsome 
presents  when  he  received  it,  with  Jabr,  son  of  Ab- 
dallah  \ — a  horse,  a  mule,  an  ass,  and  a  present  that 
went  near  perpetuating  the  Prophet's  dynasty :  for 
the  concubine  Mary,  a  Copt,  sent  by  this  governor, 
erelong  brought  forth  a  son  of  whom  Mohammed 
claimed  to  be  the  father,  his  fatherhood  being  attested 
by  the  infant's  features — though  the  rival  wife,  the 
childless  Ayeshah,  would  not  see  the  resemblance. 
This  governor  could  not  from  Mohammed's  letter 
only  have  divined  so  well  its  author's  tastes :  a 
couple  of  concubines  would  have  been  a  suitable 
present  for  Achilles,  but  how  came  the  Alexandrian 
to  know  that  they  were  equally  suitable  to  the 
founder  of  a  new  religion?  He  must  have  learned 
of  this  from  the  messenger — Hatib,  son  of  Balta'ah, 
whose  description  of  the  massacres  of  Israelites  may 
have  secured  this  man's  partial  acceptance  of  Mo- 
hammed's claim.  Of  his  conversation  with  the 
Mukaukis  a  specimen  is  preserved.  \  "  If  Moham- 
med is  a  Prophet,"  he  asked,  "  why  did  he  not  curse 
the  people  of  Meccah  when  they  drove  him  out  ?" — 
a  proceeding  for  which  authority  could  be  found  in 


*  See  Butler,  Arab  Conquest  of Egypt ',  Appendix  C. 

f  Isabah,  i.,  480. 

%  Usd  al-ghabah,  i.,  362,  etc. 


3  JO  Mohammed 

both  Testaments.  Hatib  was  equal  to  the  occasion  : 
"  If  Jesus  be  a  Prophet,"  he  replied,  "  why  did  not 
he  curse  the  people  who  wanted  to  crucify  him  ?  " 

Other  messengers  went  to  the  heads  of  small  states 
in  Arabia,  to  whom  the  claim  to  hegemony  on  the 
part  of  one  of  their  number  perhaps  came  as  less  of  a 
surprise ;  for  the  history  of  Arabia  apparently  had 
been  one  of  ups  and  downs :  when  a  competent 
ruler  had  shown  himself  in  a  province  he  aspired 
to  the  homage  of  the  others.  These  princes  seem 
to  have  temporised,  waiting  to  see  whether  the  new 
power  would  crush  the  resistance  of  its  neighbours, 
or  itself  succumb.  It  is  not  claimed  that  the  effect 
on  these  persons  was  as  remarkable  as  that  which 
had  been  produced  on  the  three  Christian  poten- 
tates :  and  perhaps  the  series  of  battles  which  bards 
had  celebrated  in  copious  verse  had  by  this  time 
brought  them  news  of  Mohammed  and  his  claims. 
And  since  the  Meccan  party  were  as  boastful  as 
those  of  Medinah,  they  would  have  learned  that  if 
one  day  had  been  for  him,  another  had  been  against 
him.  With  the  southern  Arabians  also  Mohammed's 
massacres  of  Jews  may  have  rendered  him  popular : 
since  the  recollection  of  the  Israelitish  hegemony  was 
not  sweet.  Haudhah,  the  Christian  ruler  of  the  Banu 
Hanifah  in  Yemamah,  must  have  sent  a  courteous 
reply :  since  at  the  Khaibar  campaign  Mohammed's 
beast  was  held  by  a  Nubian  slave  whom  that  mon- 
arch had  sent  him  as  a  present.*  Presently  Haud- 
hah offered  to  accept  Islam  on  condition  of  being 


*  Jsabah,  iii.,  588. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Mecca h     371 

appointed  the  Prophet's  successor ;  a  condition  which 
was,  of  course,  declined.* 

As  the  end  of  the  year  7  approached  the  time 
came  for  the  execution  of  the  Prophet's  project  of  a 
pilgrimage,  leave  for  which  had  been  extorted  from 
the  Meccans  the  year  before.  The  Prophet's  cause 
had  materially  advanced  since  his  visit  to  Hudaibiyah. 
and  he  had  all  the  interest  of  a  royal  personage  at- 
taching to  him.  He  had,  moreover,  taken  into  his 
harem  the  daughter  of  his  resolute  opponent  Abu 
Sufyan  :  for  at  his  request  Umm  Habibah,  widow  of 
one  of  his  followers,  had  been  sent  to  him  by  the 
Abyssinian  King,  with  a  handsome  dowry  provided 
by  the  monarch  himself.  Meccah,  according  to  the 
terms  agreed  on  the  previous  year,  was  to  be  va- 
cated by  the  Kuraish  for  three  days,  during  which 
Mohammed  might  have  the  Ka'bah  to  himself:  af- 
ter that  he  was  to  quit.  Probably  neither  party  was 
sure  of  the  good  faith  of  the  other :  Mohammed 
brought  with  him  two  hundred  horsemen,  in  case  of 
emergencies  :  and  so  little  were  the  Kuraish  disposed 
to  prolong  the  visit  of  their  guest,  that  they  refused 
him  permission  to  give  at  Meccah  the  entertainment 
which  should  have  followed  one  of  his  numerous 
weddings,  which  he  prepared  to  solemnise  in  his 
native  town. 

An  accurate  record  is  preserved  of  the  Prophet's 
road  and  of  the  direction  from  which  he  approached 
Meccah.  His  escort  of  two  hundred  riders  was  left 
behind  at  Yajuj,  an  elevation  whence  the  images  at 
this   time   surrounding  the  Ka'bah  could    be  seen. 

*  Khafaji,  Comm.  on  Durrahs  46. 


372  Mohammed 

The  procession  of  sixty  camels  for  sacrifice,  followed 
by  the  twelve  hundred  Moslems,  proceeded  from 
Kada  past  the  graveyard  on  the  road  to  Abtah  and 
Mina.*  Lest  the  Meccans  should  think  the  Mos- 
lems still  worn  and  jaded,  as  they  had  seemed  at 
Badr,  they  were  ordered  to  do  part  of  their  proces- 
sion racing,  and  this  custom  remained  till  after  times. 
They  had  requested  a  meal  of  camel's  flesh  to  make 
their  countenances  cheerful ;  but  the  Prophet,  re- 
garding this  as  too  costly,  had  given  them  a  feast  of 
dates  instead,  f 

This  pilgrimage,^:  then,  like  the  last,  was  to  impress 
the  Meccans  with  a  show  of  power  and  wealth,  and 
doubtless  materially  assisted  the  capture  of  Meccah, 
which  was  now  within  easy  distance.  Much  vexa- 
tion must  have  been  occasioned  to  the  steady, 
though  not  always  judicious,  opponents  of  Moham- 
med, like  Abu  Sufyan,  by  the  Ciceros  of  the  time — 
the  faint-hearted  partisans,  whose  fears  regularly  for- 
boded  ill  to  their  own  cause,  and  who  now  could  point 
to  the  fulfilment  of  their  forebodings.  If  there  were 
any  there  who  had  urged  vigorous  measures  the  day 
they  let  Mohammed  escape  from  their  daggers,  any 
who  had  advised  that  the  victory  of  Uhud  be  not 
left  unfinished,  and  whose  calculations  had  not  been 
put  out  by  the  stratagem  of  the  Ditch — such  persons 
could  look  back  with  justifiable  pride  on  valuable 
counsel  given  and  neglected. 

In  the  marriage  with  Maimunah,  a  beautiful  widow 

*  Diyarbekri,  i. ,  690. 

f  Musnad,  i.,  221,  306. 

X  Dhu'l-Ka'dah,  a.h.  7,  identified  with  March,  A.D.  629. 


O   00 

?1 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     373 

whom  the  Prophet  now  added  to  his  harem,  his 
uncle  Abbas  is  said  to  have  acted  as  the  bride's 
guardian.  The  marriage  took  place  at  Sarif,  some 
eight  miles  from  Meccah,  and  the  question  whether 
the  Prophet  was  in  a  sacred  or  profane  condition  at 
the  time  interests  Moslems,  though  it  has  no  interest 
for  us,  who  know  the  elasticity  of  the  prophetic  con- 
science. Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  empire  founded 
by  Mohammed  had  fallen  to  the  descendants  of 
Abbas  at  the  time  whence  our  chief  documents 
emanate,  determined  attempts  were  made  at  repre- 
senting him  on  all  occasions  as  Mohammed's  close 
ally.  The  lady  herself  is  supposed  to  be  referred  to  in 
the  Koran  as  a  believing  woman  who  offers  herself  to 
the  Prophet.  According  to  some  she  was  the  last  wife. 
Mohammed's  fame  began  to  attract  to  Medinah 
the  bards  who  went  from  court  to  court  to  sell  their 
compliments.  The  poet  of  Yemamah,  A'sha,  of 
Kais,  who  enjoyed  an  exaggerated  reputation,  be- 
thought him  of  earning  something  in  this  way,  and 
there  attached  to  his  verses  a  superstition  similar  to 
that  which  in  old  times  belonged  to  the  words  of 
Balaam  :  those  whom  he  praised  became  great,  those 
whom  he  ridiculed  sank  low.  On  the  way  to  Medi- 
nah he  came  to  Meccah,  probably  not  knowing  the 
relation  between  the  two  cities,  and  he  showed  his 
verses  to  Abu  Sufyan.  The  latter  offered  him  a 
hundred  camels  if  he  would  go  far  away  and  watch 
the  turn  of  events  before  he  published  his  praise  of 
Mohammed.  The  poet  was  sufficient  of  a  business 
man  to  close  with  this  offer,  but  one  of  his  newly 
acquired  camels  killed  him. 


374  Mohammed 

The  spectacle  of  the  pilgrimage  produced  one  im- 
portant convert,  Khalid,  son  of  Al-Walid,  presently- 
destined  to  earn  the  name  of  the  Sword  of  Allah. 
He  and  the  other  great  Moslem  general,  'Amr,  son 
of  Al-'Asi,  were  converted  about  this  time,  and  are 
even  said  to  have  met  each  other  on  their  way  to 
Medinah.  Khalid  had  gone  away  from  Meccah  in 
order  not  to  have  the  humiliation  of  seeing  the  Mos- 
lems enter  it ;  and  a  letter  from  his  brother,  Al- 
Walid,  who  had  been  converted  shortly  after  Badr, 
written  at  the  Prophet's  instance,  was  decisive  in 
causing  him  to  join  the  conquering  side.*  The 
conversion  of  'Amr  is  sometimes  assigned  to  that 
Abyssinian  potentate  at  whose  palace  his  was  a  not 
unfamiliar  figure.  Thither,  according  to  his  own 
account,  f  he  had  retreated  after  the  affair  of  the 
Ditch,  thinking  that  Mohammed's  success  in  his  war 
with  the  Kuraish  was  now  assured,  and  that  the 
court  of  his  Abyssinian  friend  would  be  a  safe  har- 
bour for  him,  whence,  even  if  Mohammed  failed,  he 
could  easily  return  to  Meccah.  It  is  worth  noticing 
that  his  return  from  Abyssinia  must  have  followed 
on  that  of  the  Moslem  exiles.  The  defection  of 
these  two  deprived  Meccah  of  the  only  strategic 
skill  which  it  possessed,  and  it  is  an  unsolved  puzzle 
why  that  skill,  which  proved  so  valuable  to  Moham- 
med and  his  followers,  had  been  useless  to  the 
Meccans.  From  the  paralysis  which  held  the  Mec- 
cans  in  their  undertakings  these  men  of  war  were 
not  free  till  they  had  put  themselves  under  the  reso- 


*  Isabah,  iii.,  1318. 
\  Musnady  iv.,  199. 


Steps  towards  the  Taking  of  Meccah     375 

lute  and  resourceful  founder  of  Islam ;  under  him 
they  were  to  win  no  fruitless  victories  as  before. 
Khalid,  the  greater  captain  of  the  two,  proved  him- 
self under  the  Caliphs  better  able  to  command  than 
to  obey;  unwilling  to  be  bound  by  rules,  or  to  be 
checked  in  his  movements  by  the  central  authority. 
But  he  fell  behind  none  in  blind  reverence  for  Mo- 
hammed, who  had  occasion  to  rebuke  him  for  ex- 
cesses as  well  as  to  praise  him  for  saving  many  a 
day ;  a  word  from  the  Prophet  could  cool  this  hero 
in  his  most  savage  moods,*  and  he  wore  some  of  the 
Prophet's  hair  as  an  amulet  in  his  soldier's  cap.  f 
'Amr  counted  as  one  of  the  Arab  diplomats,  on 
whose  sagacity  reliance  could  be  placed,  though 
under  the  Meccan  regime  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  successful.  These  persons'  conversion  is  rightly 
regarded  by  SprengerJ  as  an  acknowledgment  on 
the  part  of  far-seeing  men  that  the  progress  of  Islam 
could  no  longer  be  resisted  ;  they  were  not  so  much 
betraying  their  fellow-citizens  as  setting  them  an  ex- 
ample, which  indeed  the  faint-heartedness  of  Meccan 
policy  rendered  easy  of  imitation.  The  great  acces- 
sion of  wealth  and  strength  which  the  last  years  had 
brought  the  Prophet  made  his  countrymen  anxious 
to  obtain  some  of  the  glory  which  he  was  reflecting 
on  all  connected  with  him.  Abu  Sufyan  §  had  hard 
work  to  persuade  many  of  his  countrymen  to  ad- 
here to  the  religion  of  their  fathers.     Hakim,  son  of 


*  Musnad,  iv.,  89. 
f  Well  ham  en,  Reste,  166. 
JCf.  Wakidi(W.\  304. 
§  Jauzi,  Adhkiya,  95. 


376 


Mohammed 


Hizam,  Khadijah's  nephew,  went  to  the  expense 
and  trouble  of  buying  a  robe  that  was  said  to  have 
belonged  to  the  hero  Dhu  Yazan,  for  fifty  dinars,  and 
bringing  it  to  Medinah*  as  a  present  to  his  distin- 
guished relative,  who,  however,  refused  to  take  a 
present  from  an  unbeliever.  Our  wonder  is  not  that 
Mohammed  so  easily  took  Meccah  the  next  year, 
but  that  he  had  then  to  conciliate  so  many  of  his 
old  opponents  with  bribes. 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  403. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  TAKING  OF  MECCAH 

THIS  year  (8)  was  marked  by  the  first  collision  be- 
tween  the  forces  of  Islam  and  of  Byzantium. 
It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  deliberately 
planned  by  the  Prophet,  but  was  rather  the  result  of 
his  ignorance  of  Byzantine  politics,  and  of  the  gen- 
eral want  of  communication  between  one  part  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire  and  another.  Among  the  letters 
sent  out  by  Mohammed  at  the  time  when  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  summon  all  mankind  to  follow  his  doc- 
trine, was  one  addressed  to  the  governor  of  Bostra 
and  conveyed  by  Al-Harith,  son  of  'Umair.*  The 
messenger  had  been  attacked  and  slain  by  the  Ghas- 
sanide  Shurahbil,  son  of  'Amr,  also  said  to  be  an 
official  in  Caesar's  pay ;  and,  as  has  been  seen,  Mo- 
hammed never  allowed  such  an  outrage  to  remain 
unavenged.  He  immediately  f  collected  a  force 
which  was  to  go  and  avenge  the  murder,  but  we  can 
scarcely  believe  that  he  was  aware  that  an  attack 
on  Shurahbil  meant  an  attack  on  the  great  Roman 


*  Wakidi  ( w.\  309. 

f  Jumada  I,  a.d.  8  ;  identified  with  September,  A.H.  629. 

377 


3  J  8  Mohammed 

Empire.  He  would  not  have  sent  a  force  of  three 
thousand  to  cope  with  the  unlimited  armies  of  the 
great  Emperor :  nor  could  he  be  expected  to  know 
that  persons  with  such  truly  Arabic  names  as  the 
Ghassanides  were  politically  Roman  rather  than 
Arabs.  He  regarded  this  as  one  of  the  many  raids 
on  Arabic  tribes  which  kept  his  treasury  full,  and  sent 
a  force  strong  indeed  for  him,  but  wholly  unequal  to 
that  which  the  Byzantine  Empire  could  bring  against 
him.  The  horses  are  described  by  the  poet  Abdal- 
lah,  son  of  Rawahah,  as  brought  from  Aja  and  Far' 
— mountains  in  the  Shamr  country.  Zaid,  son  of 
Harithah,  a  not  unsuccessful  leader  of  raids,  was 
chosen  to  command,  and  told  to  conclude  treaties,  if 
necessary,  in  his  own  name,  instead  of  the  Prophet's, 
so  as  to  make  them  easier  to  break.*  Among  the  rank 
and  file  was  Khalid,  son  of  Al-Walid,  fighting  now 
for  the  first  time  under  his  new  allegiance.  A  few 
orders  were  given  for  the  succession  to  the  command 
in  case  of  disaster :  but  of  a  hierarchy  of  officers  the 
Mohammedan  warfare  at  present  knew  nothing; 
indeed  such  a  system  would  probably  have  seemed 
to  violate  the  equality  of  all  Moslems. 

The  authorities  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to 
chronicle  the  route  taken  by  Zaid  on  this  the  most 
distant  of  the  Moslem  raids.  Probably  they  followed 
the  road  which  Sfr  now  the  pilgrim  route  from  Da- 
mascus to  Meccah,  and  which  was  the  old  caravan 
route.  Their  first  destination  was  Mu'an  or  Ma'an, 
on  the  verge  of  the  desert :  it  is  a  point  at  which  the 
road  to  Meccah  converges  with  another  from  Akabah. 

*  Wakidi  ( W.\  309. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  379 

It  was  at  this  time  an  important  fortress,  with  an 
Arab  governor,  subject  to  the  Byzantines.  There 
they  heard  that  the  Greeks  were  in  great  force  at 
Maab  (near  the  Dead  Sea)  with  the  fighting  men  of 
numerous  Arab  tribes:  Heraclius  himself,  having 
recently  recovered  Palestine  from  the  Persians,  was 
said  to  be  among  them  :  but  we  need  not  repeat  the 
fabulous  numbers  which  the  Moslems  assign  to  the 
Byzantine  army  in  order  to  excuse  the  sequel.  A 
council  of  war  was  held,  some  suggesting  that  in- 
formation should  be  sent  to  the  Prophet,  who 
clearly  had  nothing  so  serious  in  view :  but  Abdal- 
lah,  son  of  Rawahah,  a  poet  and  enthusiast,  who 
had  been  the  first  to  advance  and  the  last  to  retreat 
from  every  other  fight,  pointed  out  the  inconsistency 
of  losing  a  chance  of  martyrdom,  which  the  Moslem 
should  welcome  even  more  than  victory.  After  two 
days'  deliberation  they  advanced.  The  spot  at 
which  they  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy  was  a  plain 
called  Masharif,  not,  it  would  seem,  identified  in 
modern  times,  but  connected  by  the  Arabs  with 
Bostra,  or  Bosra,  which  has  repeatedly  been  visited, 
in  the  region  known  as  the  Hauran.  At  the  sight  of 
the  Byzantine  force  the  Moslem  army  fell  back  on  a 
village  called  Mutah,  which  has  given  its  name  to  the 
campaign.  There  battle  was  given.  Some  of  the 
Moslem  leaders  descended  from  their  horses  and 
deliberately  lamed  the  beasts  in  order  that  they 
might  not  be  tempted  to  flee. 

Of  the  order  of  events  in  the  battle  we  learn  very 
little.  Three  standard-bearers  (Zaid,  Ja'far,  the 
Prophet's  cousin,  and  Abdallah,  son  of  Rawahah) 


380  Mohammed 

being  killed  in  succession,  some  difficulty  was  found 
in  getting  any  one  to  take  this  dangerous  charge : 
and,  to  judge  by  what  happened  at  Uhud,  it  would 
appear  that  the  Moslems  were  on  the  verge  of  a 
rout.  Khalid,  whose  ability  at  Uhud  had  been  dis- 
played when  his  party  had  begun  to  fly,  was  again 
ready  for  the  emergency  :  he  stepped  into  the  posi- 
tion of  leader,  at  the  instance,  it  is  said,  of  Khalid, 
son  of  Arkam.  By  means  not  recorded,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  rallying  the  broken  forces  of  the  Moslems, 
and  getting  them  safely  away  from  the  field.  Even 
so,  the  Moslem  losses  were  doubtless  considerable ; 
but  on  these  their  historians  are  unwilling  to  dwell. 
Probably  the  work  of  the  victorious  army  was  chiefly 
done  by  the  tribes  Lakhm,  Judham,  Kain,  Bahra, 
and  Bali,  who  spoke  the  same  language  and  used 
the  same  weapons  as  their  Moslem  antagonists. 

In  Mohammedan  history  Ja'far,  son  of  Abu  Talib, 
is  as  much  the  hero  of  Mutah  as  is  Hamzah  the  hero 
of  Uhud.  Ja'far  had  only  returned  from  Abyssinia 
in  the  preceding  year,  so  that  his  enjoyment  of  his 
cousin's  regal  position  was  of  short  duration.  The 
general,  Zaid,  son  of  Harithah,  had  been  connected 
with  one  of  the  worst  scandals  of  the  Prophet's 
domestic  life,  whence  his  not  returning  was  perhaps 
not  without  its  consolation.  Abdallah,  son  of  Raw- 
ahah,  who  is  made  responsible  for  the  forward  march 
from  Ma'an,  is  represented  as  having  shown  some 
tendency  to  flinch :  probably  cooler  men  had  more 
real  nerve.  He  was  one  of  Mohammed's  court 
poets,  but  his  satire  fell  flat  on  the  Kuraish,  because 
he  taunted  them  with  that  unbelief  of  which  they 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  381 

boasted.*  High  honours  in  Paradise  were  awarded 
to  all  by  the  grateful  Prophet:  but  for  Ja'far  he 
found  wings,  to  carry  him  to  God's  throne.  With 
tears  in  his  eyes  he  harangued  the  Moslems,  narrat- 
ing the  order  of  the  deaths,  and  saying  he  could  not 
wish  them  back.f  The  survivors  of  this  disastrous 
fight  were  greeted  by  the  Moslems  as  deserters,  and 
some  were  even  afraid  to  appear  in  public  for  some 
time:  such  Spartans  had  the  people  of  Medinah 
become  in  their  eight  years  of  warfare.  The  Prophet, 
whose  mind  was  always  clearest  in  times  of  stress,  by 
no  means  echoed  this  taunt:  if  the  numbers  of  the 
enemy  had  been  one  tenth  of  the  figures  given  by 
the  historians,  no  single  Moslem  should  have  escaped. 
To  have  come  in  collision  with  the  great  world- 
power  and  not  have  been  exterminated,  if  not  a 
victory,  was  very  near  one.  Moreover,  the  Arab 
tribes  who  were  now  serving  under  Byzantine  com- 
manders were  to  the  Mohammedans  as  wheat  ready 
for  the  harvest. 

It  was  the  Prophet's  custom,  as  we  have  often 
seen,  to  redeem  a  disaster  as  quickly  as  possible  by 
some  striking  success.  So  long  as  there  were  Jews 
left,  he  was  always  sure  of  an  easy  victory;  they 
were  by  this  time  exhausted ;  but  Meccah  remained, 
and  his  experiences  of  the  last  years  showed  him  that 
it  was  ripe  to  fall.  All  then  that  was  required  was  a 
decent  pretext  for  attacking  it,  and  this  was  provided 
by  the  treaty  which  he  made  with  the  Meccans  at 
the  time  of  his  abortive  pilgrimage. 

*  Aghani,  xv.,  29. 
f  Musnady  iii.,  118. 


382  Mohammed 

We  have  repeatedly  seen  that  blood  once  shed 
was  never  forgotten,  unless  there  were  formal  atone- 
ments. Of  the  clause  in  the  treaty  of  Hudaibiyah 
which  permitted  different  tribes  to  enter  the  rival 
confederacies  of  Meccah  and  Medinah  advantage 
had  been  taken  by  the  Khuza'ah,  who  entered  that 
of  Medinah,  and  the  Banu  Bakr,  a  section  of  the 
Kinanah,  who  entered  that  of  Meccah.  Between 
these  two  tribes  there  was  a  blood-feud,  dating  from 
the  time  before  the  commencement  of  Islam;  it  had 
begun,  as  so  often  had  been  the  case  at  Medinah,  by 
the  murder  of  a  foreign  trader,  whom  the  Banu  Bakr 
had  undertaken  to  protect.  A  member  of  the  Khu- 
za'ah had  been  murdered  in  return,  and  in  return  for 
this  three  noble  Bakrites  had  been  murdered  at 
Arafat.  At  the  time  of  Badr,  it  will  be  remembered, 
an  attack  on  Meccah  by  the  Kinanah  was  feared,  but 
did  not  take  place:  and  for  reasons  not  known  to 
us,  during  the  years  in  which  the  Meccan  caravans 
were  raided  by  Mohammed  the  feud  seems  to  have 
slumbered.  But  the  cessation  of  the  danger  from 
Medinah  gave  the  Kuraish  courage  to  assist  their  al- 
lies, the  Kinanah,  and  in  a  nightly  raid  they  killed 
one  of  the  Khuza'ah  within  the  sanctuary.  The  rela- 
tions between  the  two  confederacies  were  severed  by 
this  bloodshed ;  and  a  gap  had  been  made  through 
which  the  Prophet  could  enter.  Indeed,  so  obvious 
was  the  occasion  for  the  intervention  of  Mohammed 
that  a  variety  of  busybodies  among  the  Khuza'ah 
hastened  to  be  the  first  to  solicit  the  Prophet's  aid. 
The  historians  record  the  names  of  'Amr,  son  of 
Salim,  and  Budail,  son  of  Warka,  in  this  contest. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  383 

The  former  is  supposed  to  have  presented  himself 
in  the  Mosque  at  Medinah,  and  recited  some  flaming 
verses.  The  Prophet  pointed  to  a  cloud  in  the  di- 
rection of  Meccah,  and  declared  that  it  contained 
help  for  the  oppressed  Khuza'ah.  The  other  man 
had  probably  been  in  the  Prophet's  confidence  long 
before.  His  family  long  preserved  a  letter  from  the 
Prophet,  in  which  he  is  invited  to  come  to  Medinah, 
or  to  "migrate"  without  leaving  his  country:  it 
would  seem,  by  abstaining  from  communication  with 
the  people  of  Meccah,  except  at  times  of  pilgrimage, 
lesser  or  greater.     The  letter  ran  as  follows  *: 

"  In  the  name  of  Allah,  the  merciful,  the  clement. 
From  Mohammed,  the  Apostle  of  God,  unto  Budail,  son 
of  VVarka,  and  the  chieftains  of  the  Banu  'Amr.  I  praise 
unto  you  Allah,  than  whom  there  is  no  other  God.  To 
proceed:  I  have  not  vexed  your  heart,  nor  set  a  burden 
on  your  back  (  ?).  Ye  are  the  most  precious  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Tihamah  in  my  eyes,  and  the  nearest  akin  unto 
me,  with  those  among  you  that  do  well.  Now  I  have 
taken  for  him  of  you  that  shall  migrate  the  like  of  what 
I  have  taken  for  myself:  even  if  he  migrate  in  his  own 
land,  not  dwelling  in  Meccah  save  for  the  lesser  or 
greater  pilgrimage.  And  I  have  laid  no  burden  upon 
you  in  that  I  have  made  peace,  and  ye  need  not  fear  nor 
be  alarmed  by  me." 

This  curious  letter  bears  the  marks  of  genuineness, 
and  contains  phrases  on  which  some  comment  would 
be  desired.  As  Wellhausen  explains  it,  it  refers  to  the 
time  after  the  Hudaibiyah  treaty,  when  Mohammed, 
having  less  need  of  the  services  of  the  Khuza'ah, 

*  Text  in  Isabah,  s.  v.  Budail ;  a  translation  in  Wakidi  (  W.),  306. 


384  Mohammed 

might  seem  to  think  less  of  them.  The  man  to 
whom  it  was  written  now  seized  the  opportunity  for 
a  visit  to  Medinah,  in  order  to  give  the  Prophet  the 
good  news  that  the  time  to  invade  Meccah  had 
come.  Little  credibility  attaches  to  the  legend  that 
the  Prophet,  distrusting  Budail,  sent  spies  to  Meccah 
to  find  out  the  truth  or  to  demand  the  extradition 
of  the  actual  criminals  before  resolving  on  an  ad- 
vance to  that  city. 

Neither  party  is  likely  to  have  deceived  itself  as  to 
the  issue  of  such  an  invasion.  The  biographers  make 
Abu  Sufyan  himself  head  a  deputation  to  Medinah 
with  the  view  of  securing  the  renewal  of  the  terms 
which  the  Meccans  found  so  beneficial  to  their  com- 
merce: the  men,  women,  and  children  whose  inter- 
cession with  the  Prophet  he  besought,  all  refused  it ; 
so  mighty  a  matter  of  state  could  be  settled  by  the 
chief  alone:  the  Prophet  himself  received  his  dis- 
tinguished suppliant  with  sardonic  smiles.  It  was 
true  that  the  Kurashites  who  had  fought  with  the 
Khuza'ah  had  been  disguised  and  unauthorised: 
but  of  their  complicity  there  was  apparently  no 
question.  The  Prophet  was  not  the  man  to  throw 
away  such  a  card,  now  it  had  come  into  his  pos- 
session at  a  time  when  it  was  welcome.  Abu  Suf- 
yan returned  to  Meccah  with  the  knowledge  that 
his  long  rivalry  with  Mohammed  was  nearing  its 
termination. 

Then  came  the  expedition  to  Meccah,  which 
started  on  the  10th  of  Ramadan,*  and  for  which  no 
fewer  than  10,000  troops  had  mustered :  it  was  the 

*  Identified  with  Jan.  i,  a.d.  630. 


The  Taking  of  Mecca h  385 

Prophet's  wish  to  conceal  his  purpose  from  the  Mec- 
cans,  and  indeed  he  was  near  Meccah  before  he  made 
it  clear  whether  the  Kuraish  or  the  Hawazin  were 
his  object,  and  indeed  whether  he  meant  war  at  all.* 
The  Meccans,  however,  fostered  no  delusions  on 
the  subject,  and  each  step  from  Medinah  made  the 
Kurashite  resistance  melt  faster  away.  Early  in  the 
journey  Mohammed  was  joined  by  his  uncle  Abbas, 
whom  Mohammedan  authorities  suppose  to  have  for 
years  been  a  secret  aider  and  abettor  of  the  Prophet : 
we  know  not  whether  this  was  so,  or  whether  when 
the  Caliphate  came  into  Abbaside  hands,  the  founder 
of  the  line  had  to  be  whitewashed.  Nearing  Meccah, 
at  Marr  Zahran  they  fell  in  with  a  scouting  party,  con- 
taining Abu  Sufyan  himself,  Khadijah's  nephew, 
and  Budail,  of  whom  we  have  just  heard.  Abu  Suf- 
yan was  told  by  Abbas  that  it  was  not  too  late  for 
him  to  save  his  head  by  a  profession  of  faith  in  the 
mission  of  the  man  whom  it  had  been  the  object  of 
his  life  to  prove  an  impostor:  and  that  such  an 
example  might  save  many  lives,  seeing  that  Meccah 
must  in  any  case  fall.  To  this  humiliation  Abu  Suf- 
yan not  without  reluctance  resigned  himself:  ob- 
taining thereby  not  only  his  own  safety,  but  the 
right  to  offer  the  same  to  all  Meccans  who  took 
refuge  in  his  house,  who  locked  their  own  doors,  or 
who  went  into  the  Meccan  sanctuary.  He  had  to 
listen  to  some  hard  words  from  the  women  folk  when 
he  got  back  to  Meccah  with  his  coat  (metaphorically) 
turned  inside  out.  They  would  have  preferred  one 
who,  if  he  could  not  live  for  a  cause,  would  dare  to 

*Wakidi,  329. 


386  Mohammed 

die  for  it.  Still  he  had  brought  back  good  terms, 
and  the  Meccans  gladly  availed  themselves  thereof. 

The  course  adopted  by  Abu  Sufyan  was  similar 
to  that  adopted  by  wise  and  patriotic  leaders  when 
the  alternatives  of  submission  and  annihilation  have 
been  before  them.  That  his  poor  generalship  was 
to  blame  for  the  state  to  which  Meccah  was  now 
reduced  must  be  conceded  ;  but  having  at  the  last 
realised  how  affairs  lay,  he  acted  with  prudence  in 
saving  life  and  property  to  the  utmost  of  his  power. 
He  acknowledged  that  his  gods  had  been  defeated 
by  Mohammed's  God,  and  therefore  that  he  owed  the 
former  no  further  allegiance. 

Not  quite  all  the  Meccans  were  of  the  same  mind 
as  their  chief.  Some  few  knew  that  they  had 
offended  Mohammed  too  much  to  be  forgiven — 
such  were  persons  who  had  once  believed  in  him, 
but  afterwards  abandoned  him.  A  few  others  had 
personal  wrongs  which  still  cried  for  vengeance. 
They  included  Safwan,  son  of  Umayyah,  by  whose 
counsel  the  battle  of  Uhud  had  not  been  followed 
up  ;  Suhail,  son  of  'Amr,  who  had  arranged  the  com- 
pact of  Hudaibiyah  ;  Tkrimah,  son  of  Abu  Jahl,  who 
since  his  father's  death  had  been  a  prominent  op- 
ponent of  Islam.  They  had  some  arms  and  am- 
munition, and  formed  a  troop  which  stationed  itself 
at  Khandamah,  a  mountain  which  is  close  to  Abu 
Kubais* — according  to  Burckhardt  the  culminating 
point  of  the  Meccan  mountains.  Since  Mohammed 
was  bent  on  entering  Meccah  fiom  the  top  (*.  e.f  from 
the  north-east),  his  force  would  necessarily  be  men- 

*  Azraki%  155. 


The  Taking  of  Mecca k  387 

aced  by  a  body  of  men  who  occupied  this  position. 
There  was  a  skirmish  between  them  and  the  cavalry 
commanded  by  Khalid,  with  slight  losses  on  both 
sides;  and  then  the  heroes  abandoned  their  posi- 
tion and  fled.  Meccah  was  now  the  Prophet's.  The 
idols  which  so  many  years  before  had  roused  the 
Prophet's  scorn,  and  to  which  he  owed  his  banish- 
ment, could  now  be  utterly  abolished.  The  pictures 
(probably  rude  artistic  efforts)  within  the  Ka'bah 
were  effaced  by  Omar  with  a  cloth  *  wetted  in  Zem- 
zem  water :  whom  or  what  they  represented  we 
know  only  on  Mohammed's  authority,  which  we  are 
not  inclined  to  trust ;  a  curious  tradition  says  that 
Mohammed  put  his  hands  over  a  picture  of  the 
Madonna  and  so  saved  it  from  destruction,  f  The 
images  which  surrounded  the  Ka'bah,  and  were  fixed 
to  their  supports  with  lead,  were  overthrown  and 
removed.  The  call  to  prayer  resounded  from  the 
top  of  the  Ka'bah,  chanted  by  Bilal  the  Abyssinian 
slave — not  without  evoking  expressions  of  horror  and 
disgust  from  some  who  were  not  yet  accustomed  to 
the  new  regime.  \  Yet  the  sanctity  of  the  Ka'bah 
was  to  suffer  no  diminution  by  the  religious  innova- 
tions: whatever  treasure  its  store  contained  —  said 
to  be  seventy  thousand  ounces  of  gold  ! — the  Prophet 
refused  to  touch  § :  a  new  mythology  was  substituted 
for  the  old :  but  the  ceremonies,  more  important  to 
the  majority,  were  to  remain.     All  Meccah  was  now 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  396. 

\  Azraki,  in. 

\  Id.,  192,  quotes  what  they  said. 

%/did.,  172. 


388  Mohammed 

to  be  an  inviolable  sanctuary :  no  blood  was  to  be 
shed  within  its  precincts,  of  which  the  landmarks, 
partly  effaced,  were  now  (with  the  angels'  help)  re- 
newed.* If  the  Prophet  had  himself  shed  some,  the 
privilege  of  God's  favourites  was  not  to  be  claimed 
by  those  of  lower  rank.  Like  Motley's  cardinal 
preaching  religious  toleration,  Mohammed  took  the 
earliest  opportunity  of  impressing  on  his  townsmen 
the  abhorrence  with  which  bloodshed  should  be  re- 
garded. And  indeed  though  at  the  first  he  had  drawn 
up  a  short  proscription  list,  for  one  reason  or  another 
he  reduced  it  to  the  modest  number  of  two.  Therein 
we  can  see  not  only  an  example  of  the  Prophet's 
clemency,  but  also  evidence  of  the  excessive  gratifi- 
cation which  the  taking  of  Meccah  caused  him.  All 
old  injuries  were  forgotten  on  that  day  of  final 
triumph.  The  Refugees  were  not  even  allowed  to 
reclaim  their  houses  which  had  been  seized  or  sold 
by  the  Meccans :  they  had  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
promise  of  houses  in  Paradise  instead  f — Moham- 
med setting  the  example  with  Khadijah's  former 
dwelling.  Even  the  keys  of  the  Ka'bah  were  not  taken 
away  from  their  hereditary  holders,  but  returned  to 
them,  though  the  meritorious  Ali  put  in  a  claim. 

The  taking  of  Meccah  was  the  outcome  of  the 
series  of  events  which  began  on  the  day  when  Mo- 
hammed was  allowed  to  become  the  master  of  a 
community  that  lay  between  the  Kuraish  and  their 
markets.  An  interest  similar  to  that  which  attends 
the  efforts  of  a  tight-rope  walker  attaches  to  his 

*  Azraki,  360. 

f  Chronicles  0/  Meccah,  iv.,  67. 


The  Taking  of  Mecca h  389 

career  in  the  meanwhile.  Destruction  menaces  him 
on  all  sides  :  but  he  surmounts  the  dangers,  because 
he  has  a  will,  and  his  enemies  have  none.  The  his- 
torians tell  us  little  of  the  internal  history  of  Meccah 
during  the  past  eight  years,  whence  the  gradual  shift- 
ing of  opinion  in  Mohammed's  favour  can  only  be 
guessed,  and  knowledge  of  the  details  fails  us.  We 
are  justified  in  supposing  that  much  was  effected 
by  Mohammed's  campaign  against  the  Byzantines, 
which,  though  not  for  the  moment  successful,  made 
him  the  champion  of  a  national  idea,  which  the  Arabs 
till  then  had  scarcely  been  able  to  realise:  even 
the  enterprise  of  Saif,  son  of  Dhu  Yazan,  had  been 
only  to  substitute  Persian  for  Abyssinian  sovereignty. 
With  this  attitude  agreed  his  ordinary  tenderness  for 
the  lives  of  Arabs,  when  he  massacred  Jews  without 
mercy.  Moreover,  experience  seems  to  show  that 
a  man  who  can  for  a  number  of  years  force  attention 
to  be  concentrated  on  himself  acquires  popularity 
even  among  his  enemies. 

Levies  (if  that  be  the  right  term)  were  held  for  the 
admission  of  the  new  converts — first  for  men  and 
then  for  women ;  the  latter  not  being  permitted  to 
shake  the  Prophet's  hand.*  A  reasonable  time  was 
indeed  granted  for  studying  the  evidences  of  the  new 
religion  in  the  case  of  those  who  were  not  prepared 
to  accede  to  it  at  once  :  but  of  his  resolve  ultimately 
to  tolerate  no  other  the  Prophet  made  no  secret.  The 
appearance  of  the  neophytes  at  these  levies  revealed 
many  traits  of  character:  poets  who  had  employed 
their    facility   of    versification    in   lampooning    the 

*  Tabari,  Comm.%  xxviii.,  49. 


390  Mohammed 

Prophet  now  showed  that  it  could  be  turned  to  his 
glorification  ;  adulation  and  sycophancy  were  rife. 
On  the  other  hand,  among  the  women  who  had  to 
swear  allegiance  some  even  at  the  risk  of  offending  the 
conqueror  could  not  restrain  a  sarcasm  at  the  char- 
acter of  the  code  for  which  they  had  been  compelled 
to  suffer  and  to  do  so  much.  "All  this  I  have  kept 
from  my  youth  up  "  was  the  comment  of  Hind,  Abu 
Sufyan's  wife,  in  response  to  some  of  the  regulations : 
to  the  command  "not  to  slay  your  children  "  she  re- 
plied that  the  women  at  Meccah  had  reared  their 
children  to  be  slain  by  Mohammed's  partisans  at  Badr. 
Still,  when  she  returned  from  the  lev£e,  she  took  an 
axe  and  hewed  her  domestic  idol  into  bits,  taunting 
it  with  having  deceived  her  all  that  time.*  And 
similar  iconoclasm  now  became  rampant  at  Meccah. 

The  Prophet's  stay  at  Meccah  did  not  exceed  a 
fortnight,  as  he  was  anxious  to  assure  his  friends  of 
Medinah  that  he  had  no  intention  of  leaving  them 
for  his  former  home:  of  which  indeed  there  was 
some  danger,  since  he  did  not  conceal  his  opinion 
that  Meccah  was  the  best  spot  on  earth  and  the 
dearest  of  all  places  to  God.  f 

The  day  after  his  entry  into  Meccah,  and  procla- 
mation of  the  sacrosanct  area,  one  of  his  followers, 
a  Khuza'ite,  had  exercised  the  blood-right  by  assas- 
sinating in  Meccah  a  Hudhalite  who  had  murdered 
one  of  his  tribe ;  Mohammed  repeated  his  oration, 
and  paid  blood-money  for  the  victim:):  to  the,  as  yet, 

*Azraki%  78. 

f  Musnad,  iv.,  305. 

%Azrakiy  353. 


The  Taking  of  Mecca h  391 

unconverted  Hudhalites :  he  was  only  deterred  from 
handing  the  assassin  over  to  their  vengeance  by  the 
doctrine  that  a  Moslem  must  not  be  killed  for  an 
Unbeliever.  Missionaries — which  name  occurs  for 
the  first  time  in  Islam  in  this  context — were  sent  to 
the  neighbouring  tribes,  summoning  them  to  put 
away  their  idols  and  submit  to  the  new  religion. 
Khalid,  son  of  Al-Walid,  being  sent  on  a  mission  of 
this  sort  to  the  Jadhimah,  took  the  opportunity  of 
avenging  an  old  wrong — the  murder  of  his  uncle 
which  had  happened  years  before:  he  attacked  the 
tribe  at  Ghumaisa  and  dealt  considerable  slaughter. 
The  Prophet,  who  now  regarded  all  Arabs  as  his 
natural  subjects,  readily  paid  blood-money  for  all 
the  slain,  and  gave  the  tribe  a  bonus  as  well.  It  was 
not  his  custom,  however,  to  find  fault  with  his 
subordinates  for  excessive  zeal,  and  Khalid  was 
employed  to  destroy  other  idols  and  sacred  houses 
in  the  neighbourhood.  The  priests  appear  to  have 
left  the  idols  to  see  after  their  own  defence — on 
Jerubbaal's  principle,  and  with  the  like  result.  The 
House  of  Allah  was  therefore  relieved  of  some  rather 
dangerous  rivals:  for,  as  has  already  been  seen,  we 
have  little  or  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the  House 
at  Meccah  stood  alone  as  a  centre  of  pilgrimage.  The 
theory  was  now  started  that  the  House  at  Meccah 
was  the  first  ever  built :  an  assertion  which  gave 
rise  to  much  speculation,  and  thence  to  many  myths. 
Of  it  (the  Ka'bah)  these  other  houses  would  be  bad 
imitations,  not  deserving  to  be  maintained  as  Houses 
of  Allah,  for  whose  worship  they  had  not  been  in- 
tended.    How,  we  are  inclined  to  wonder,  would 


392  Mo  ha  rnmed 

Mohammed  have  treated  "  the  furthest  Mosque,"  the 
Temple  wall  at  Jerusalem,  had  he  lived  to  conquer 
that  sacred  city  ?  He  would  have  learned  (what  he 
perhaps  did  not  know)  that  the  Temple  no  longer 
existed :  and  since  he  forbade  pilgrimage  to  Jerusa- 
lem, he  would  probably  have  secured  in  some  way 
that  special  sanctity  should  no  more  attach  to  Zion. 
The  political  value  of  centralised  worship  was  not 
learned  by  him  from  the  example  of  the  Jewish 
kings;  but  he  was  alive  to  it  none  the  less.  Not  with- 
out deliberation  did  he  decide  what  ritual  he  should 
retain,  till  he  finally  drew  up  a  scheme  whereby  a 
number  of  rites  belonging  originally  to  different 
sanctuaries  were  grouped  into  a  lengthy  perform- 
ance :  the  inequalities  which  in  the  older  system  had 
distinguished  different  clans  were  all  abolished ;  all 
Moslems  being  equal.  Into  those  ceremonies  there 
was  little  difficulty  in  working  the  Abraham  myth 
in  place  of  the  tales  which  former  cicerones  had  told. 
If  stones  were  in  one  place  thrown  to  keep  down 
the  body  of  some  fallen  enemy,  or  to  secure  that 
certain  land  should  not  be  appropriated  for  a  year,* 
it  could  now  be  said  that  they  were  thrown  at 
Satan.  Was  not  Satan  called  "  the  stoned  "  in  the 
Koran  ? 

One  serious  alteration  was  presently  to  follow 
when  the  Prophet  conceived  the  unhappy  idea  of 
altering  the  Calendar  without  knowledge  of  the 
elements  of  astronomy  or  even  of  the  purpose  of 
the    year.      Previously,    by    unscientific    intercala- 

*  Chauvin.     Le    Jet  des  Pierres  au   Pttirinage  de   la   Mecque, 
Anvers,  1902. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  393 

tion,  the  months  had  been  made  to  correspond 
roughly  to  the  seasons  :  Mohammed,  by  making  it 
twelve  lunar  months,  destroyed  all  relation  between 
them.  Of  any  accommodation  of  the  pilgrimage 
months  to  the  needs  of  commerce  there  could  no 
longer  be  any  question.  Mohammed  had  not  in- 
tended this  result,  of  whose  certainty  he  was  ignor- 
ant :  but  it  came,  and  the  markets  of  the  "  Days  of 
Ignorance"  quickly  fell  into  oblivion.  The  com- 
merce of  Meccah  was  ruined,  but  the  city  was  the 
gainer — at  first  by  a  fair  share  in  the  plunder  of  the 
world,  presently  by  a  concourse  of  visitors  unprece- 
dented in  number  at  the  sacred  seasons :  a  stream  at 
rare  times  diverted  by  sedition  and  fanaticism,  in- 
creasing in  peaceful  times  since  Meccah  was  taken, 
until  now,  when  railroad  and  steamer  help  to  swell 
it.  If  Mohammed  took  anything  from  Meccah,  he 
gave  it  more. 

Of  cities  that  existed  in  the  seventh  century  of  our 
era  probably  few  have  carried  on  an  existence  so 
continuous,  ruffled  only  by  superficial  troubles.  Its 
population,  after  it  had  been  made  the  great  sanctu- 
ary of  the  world,  quickly  forgot  politics  and  com- 
merce :  they  turned  into  show-managers,  the  keepers 
of  an  exhibition  which  it  was  the  duty  of  all  the 
world  to  visit.  To  the  faithful  whose  lives  had  been 
spent  in  dreams  of  Meccah  before  the  chance  of  pil- 
grimage arrived,  the  heavenly  city  became  clothed 
with  a  fantastic  glamour,  and  was  with  difficulty  dis- 
sociated from  that  Paradise  for  which  a  visit  to  it 
was  the  preparation  and  of  which  it  was  the  symbol. 
11  Blessed  be  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  House,  they 


394  Mohammed 

shall  be  always  praising  Thee."  It  does  not  appear 
that  the  population  of  Meccah  spend  all  their  time 
in  this  edifying  manner:  but  they  have  the  great 
advantage  of  knowing  that  their  business  will  come 
to  them  without  their  having  to  go  to  seek  it. 

By  giving  the  empire  of  Islam  a  religious  capital, 
at  no  time  utilised  as  a  political  capital,  the  founder 
got  for  it  a  mainstay  which  has  secured  the  continu- 
ity of  the  system  amid  the  most  violent  convulsions. 
A  political  capital  once  sacked  is  often  abandoned 
by  the  victorious  dynasty  for  another :  and  various 
commercial  and  military  considerations  render  the 
substitution  of  one  for  another  desirable  or  even 
imperative.  Hence  the  political  centre  of  Islam  was 
shifted  as  the  dynasties  succeeded  each  other,  and 
was  at  each  time  where  the  most  powerful  Moham- 
medan sovereign  chose  to  hold  his  court.  But  with 
each  of  these  sovereigns  Meccah  was  equally  hon- 
oured :  each  took  pride  in  conferring  lavish  gifts  on 
the  city  of  God :  each  regarded  its  protection  and 
adornment  as  duties  specially  incumbent  upon  him. 
Identified  thus  with  Islam  as  a  religion,  the  city 
which  had  offered  the  most  stubborn  resistance  to  its 
rise  speedily  became  its  most  fanatical  adherent. 
Elsewhere  in  Islamic  countries  one  who  is  not  a 
Moslem  may  live  and  even  thrive.  At  Meccah 
he  must  conceal  his  unbelief,  being  sure,  if  detected, 
of  death. 

The  capture  of  Meccah  was  followed  almost  im- 
mediately by  a  dangerous  struggle  with  a  host  of 
nomad  Arabs,  led  by  some  of  those  pagan  heroes 
with  whom  the  old  poetry  and  the  works  of  the 


*  *r»: 


w 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  395 

archaeologists  are  constantly  occupied,  but  who  have 
not  hitherto  figured  much  in  the  life  of  the  Prophet, 
which  had  been  mainly  spent  in  debate  with  the 
civilised  Jews  or  the  partly  civilised  denizens  of  the 
towns.  The  growth  and  consolidation  of  the  Mos- 
lem state  had  thoroughly  alarmed  these  Bedouins, 
to  whom  the  liberty  of  the  desert  was  dear:  and  the 
expedition  against  Meccah,  of  which  the  purpose 
was  at  the  first  concealed,  was  thought  to  be  directed 
against  them.  But  even  when  it  was  known  that  it 
had  been  aimed  at  Meccah,  and  had  terminated 
successfully,  the  leaders  of  the  assembled  forces  de- 
termined to  make  a  stand  for  the  liberty  of  Arabia. 

The  tribes  who  had  assembled  bore  the  names 
Hawazin  and  Thakif;  their  pastures  were  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Meccah.  Like  many  races  in  a 
primitive  condition  they  made  one  man  chief  when 
they  went  to  war :  and  their  head  at  this  time  was 
Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  of  the  clan  Nasr,  a  branch  of 
the  Hawazin.  But  they  also  took  with  them  to  the 
battle-field  on  a  litter  the  aged  hero  of  a  hundred 
fights,  Duraid,  son  of  Simmah,  of  the  clan  Jusham.* 
He  was  brought  to  the  battle  somewhat  as  the  bones 
of  dead  heroes  were  sometimes  taken  to  it — owing 
to  a  belief  in  what  the  Maoris  would  call  his  7nana, 
and  the  Arabs  his  nakibah,  a  combination  of  fortune, 
skill,  and  efficiency,  which  would  make  his  presence 
desirable  in  any  enterprise.  Not  a  few  anecdotes 
are  told  of  the  life  of  this  hero,  who,  like  many  of 

♦Jusham  is  called  hy Al~Ak)ital{Kamil,  ii.,  60)  the  worst  of  the 
tribes  ;  like  Katas,  neither  black  nor  red.  A  war  between  Thakif  and 
Nasr  is  mentioned,  Bayany  i.,  55. 


396  Mohammed 

his  clan,  had  some  reputation  as  a  poet,  and  espe- 
cially as  an  encomiast  *  of  fortitude,  though  we  can- 
not say  whether  any  of  the  verses  attributed  to  him 
are  genuine.  His  prime  was  spent  in  the  usual  pur- 
suit of  camel-stealing — where  possible,  from  hostile 
tribes,  when  otherwise,  from  friendly  clans.  Reprisals 
led  to  bloodshed  :  all  Duraid's  brothers  died  in  camel- 
raids  :  for  each  it  was  Duraid's  duty  to  demand  many 
lives  in  return,  as  well  as  to  record  their  praises  in 
verse.  His  exploits  as  a  lover  were  naturally  no  less 
considerable  than  his  achievements  as  a  warrior :  in 
both  fields  he  met  with  occasional  rebuffs,  but  more 
often  with  success.  At  one  time  he  escaped  from 
slaughter  by  feigning  to  be  dead — a  ruse  practised 
also  by  the  American  Indians.  The  camel-stealer's 
wealth  endures  not :  if  secured,  it  is  speedily  lavished 
on  wives  new  and  old,  and  clansmen  and  guests: 
"  Rascaldom  "  of  this  sort,  too,  "  has  no  strong  box." 
Old  age  finds  him  poor,  unfit  for  war  or  love  :  but 
not  yet  stripped  of  his  mana,  and  perhaps  anx- 
ious to  die  in  a  battle-field  :  ready  even  to  give  his 
bungling  slaughterer  some  useful  hints  of  the  way 
in  which  he  should  proceed.  This  sort  of  man  has 
an  instinctive  horror  of  order  and  discipline  and  or- 
ganisation. Where  blood  may  not  be  shed  freely, 
he  cannot  find  his  true  level. 

The  coalition  of  Hawazin  and  Thakif  took  up  a 
station  in  a  wadi  called  Autas,  not  many  miles,  it 
would  seem,  from  Meccah,  though  the  place  seems 
not  to  have  been  visited  in  recent  times.  It  would 
appear  to  be  somewhat  to  the  south-east  of  Meccah, 

*  Goldziher,  M.S.,  i.,  252. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  397 

close  by  a  place  called  Dhu'l-Majaz  or  "the  Pass," 
one  of  the  market-places  of  old  times.  Thither 
came  the  tribes,  accompanied  (in  true  savage  style) 
by  their  wives  and  children,  and  their  flocks  and 
herds,  a  proceeding  said  to  be  disapproved  by  the 
aged  Duraid,  but  probably  sanctioned  by  constant 
usage :  we  have  seen  that  at  Uhud  the  women 
played  a  not  unimportant  part.  He  also  is  said  to 
have  advised  retreat,  partly  owing  to  the  absence  of 
some  of  the  best  of  the  Hawazin  tribes:  but,  seeing 
that  every  day  added  to  Mohammed's  power,  the 
leader  was  right  in  resolving  to  try  his  fortune  at 
once.  Men  were  placed  under  cover  on  both  sides 
of  the  valley  of  Hunain,  whither  the  Moslems  were 
descending;  the  number  of  Mohammed's*  forces 
is  given  as  12,000  —  the  10,000  with  which  he  had 
invaded  Meccah,  reinforced  by  2000  of  the  new 
converts  or  allies.  The  united  forces  of  Hawazin 
and  Thakif  are  put  at  4100.  Probably  the  latter 
estimate  is  an  exceedingly  rough  one.  But  the 
Moslem  chroniclers  deserve  credit  for  making  their 
own  force  on  this  occasion  greatly  superior  to  its 
antagonist.  At  early  morning  f  the  Moslem  forces 
entered  the  valley  of  Hunain,  and  were  speedily  at- 
tacked on  all  sides  by  the  enemy,  who  had  been 
ordered  to  break  their  scabbards  when  the  engage- 
ment commenced,  as  a  sign  that  they  were  to  be 
whole-hearted    in    their    enterprise.      The   plan    of 


*  For  this  campaign  Mohammed  borrowed  30,000  or  60,000  dir- 
hems  from  Abdallah  Ibn  Abi  Rabi'ah,  which  were  honestly  repaid. 
— Musnad,  iv.,  36. 

f  Shawwal,  a.h.  8  ;  identified  with  Jan.-Feb.,  a.d.  630. 


398  Mohammed 

Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  was,  for  the  moment,  completely 
successful.  The  Moslems  turned  and  fled  in  head- 
long confusion :  not,  according  to  some,  without 
the  set  purpose  of  some  of  the  new  converts,  who 
thought  the  occasion  a  good  one  for  dealing  the  con- 
queror a  blow.  Indeed,  one  of  these  unwilling  fol- 
lowers is  even  said  to  have  nerved  himself  to  attack 
the  Prophet,  only  to  find  his  nerve  fail  him.  One 
Moslem  woman,  who  had  armed  herself  with  a  scim- 
itar to  be  used  in  emergencies,  afterwards  advised 
that  these  traitors  should  be  killed.*  Some  of  the 
fugitives  are  said  f  to  have  carried  the  tidings  to 
Meccah,  where  they  were  received  with  acclamation. 
One  of  the  Meccans  declared  (somewhat  premature- 
ly) that  that  day  had  seen  the  last  of  the  witchcraft. 
The  Moslems  had  been  discomfited  by  a  shower 
of  arrows,  with  which  the  Hawazin  were  skilled 
marksmen.  The  Prophet  was  clad  in  such  complete 
armour  that  he  had  no  occasion  to  fear  this  weapon  : 
but  besides,  as  at  Uhud,  he  exhibited  presence  of 
mind,  and  consciousness  of  the  fact  that  a  defeat  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Meccah,  so  long  obstinate  and 
so  recently  overcome,  was  a  disaster  of  very  differ- 
ent magnitude  from  one  near  his  devoted  Medinah. 
If  the  biographers  can  be  believed,  he  stood  still, 
surrounded  by  a  few  of  the  innermost  circle,  while 
the  others  were  flying  past :  and  he  utilised  the  sten- 
torian lungs  of  his  uncle  Abbas  to  remind  the  fugi- 
tives of  their  oaths,  their  duty,  and  their  glorious 
victories.     The  heroes  of  Badr  gathered  round  the 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  286. 
\  Halabi,  157. 


The  Taking  of  Mecca h  399 

Prophet,  and  stemmed  the  rout.  Men  who  found 
their  mounts  uncontrollable  descended  from  them 
and  put  on  the  armour  of  infantry.  Ali  aimed  a 
blow  at  the  camel  on  which  one  of  the  Hawazin 
leaders  was  riding,  and  with  the  aid  of  a  man  from 
Medinah  dispatched  the  rider.  What  happened 
then  is  not  known  exactly :  it  appears  however  that 
the  Hawazin  general  had  not  the  ability  to  make  use 
of  his  initial  advantage,  and  that  the  fierce  resistance 
of  a  company  of  a  hundred  men  who  gathered  round 
the  Prophet  was  sufficient  to  turn  the  tide.  The 
gigantic  Abu  Talhah  is  said  to  have  alone  killed 
twenty  men.*  The  poet  of  the  Banu  Sulaim  how- 
ever claimed  that  the  merit  of  the  victory  lay  with 
his  own  tribe,  led  by  Dahhak,  regarded  as  the  equal 
in  prowess  of  a  hundred  men  :  "  when  the  Prophet 
cried  to  the  Banu  Sulaim,  '  rise  up,'  they  rose  :  else 
had  the  enemy  swept  away  the  Believers,  and  seized 
their  possessions."  And  indeed  it  appears  that  the 
chief  achievements  in  the  slaughter  of  the  foe  be- 
longed to  the  Banu  Sulaim,  who  pursued  the  enemy 
as  far  as  "  Buss  and  Aural,"  places  in  the  Jushamite 
territory.  Of  the  Thakafites  the  clan  called  Banu 
Malik  fought  like  heroes,  and  lost  seventy  men : 
others  fled  and  saved  their  skins — including  a  leader 
called  Karib  who  got  safely  to  Ta'if,  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Thakif  tribe :  for  this  act  of  discretion  he 
receives  the  warm  praise  of  a  poet,  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  a  vivid  account  of  the  battle.  The 
general,  Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  is  said  to  have  rallied 
his  horsemen  sufficiently  to  make  them  hold  their 

*  Afusnad,  iii.  279,  etc. 


4<do  Mohammed 

ground  till  the  weaker  members  of  the  party  were 
covered,  and  then  to  have  brought  them  safely  to 
an  eminence  whence  they  could  make  their  way  to 
Ta'if.  There  apparently  some  of  the  women  were 
saved,  though  others  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mos- 
lems. Khalid,  son  of  Al-Walid,  whose  savagery  had 
already  won  a  rebuke  from  the  Prophet,  earned  a 
fresh  one  by  thinking  it  his  duty  to  kill  these  ama- 
zons :  an  act  which  was  totally  against  the  Prophet's 
ideas  of  gallantry;  just  as  he  found  it  necessary  to 
rebuke  others  who  had  thought  it  their  duty  to 
slaughter  the  children  of  the  unbelievers.  "What 
are  the  best  of  you,"  he  asked,  "  but  children  of  un- 
believers?"* Among  the  captive  women  was  one 
who  claimed  to  be  the  Prophet's  foster-sister — known 
only  as  Al-Shaima,  "the  woman  with  a  mark,"  which 
she  declared  was  due  to  the  Prophet's  having  bitten 
her  when  a  child :  the  relationship  was  recognised, 
and  the  woman  sent  with  presents  to  her  kindred. 
So  too  Beckwourth  found  among  the  Crow  tribe  a 
woman  who  recognised  him  by  a  wart  as  her  son,  and 
it  suited  his  purpose  to  acknowledge  the  evidence. 
Duraid,  son  of  Al-Simmah,  found  (in  his  litter)  a 
soldier's  death ;  he  was  slain  by  a  Sulamite,  mem- 
ber of  a  tribe  which  Duraid's  prowess  had  saved, 
but  "  Islam  had  cancelled  all  that  was  before  it."  His 
son  Salamah  contrived  both  to  escape  and  to  save  his 
wife. 

The  whole  number  of  Moslems  killed  on  this  occa- 
sion is  given  as  four — surprisingly  small,  if  true  :  yet 
when  the  Moslem  force  numbered  twelve  thousand 


*  Musnad,  iii.,  435. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  401 

it  is  not  probable  that  deaths  were  noted  as  care- 
fully as  when  the  troops  only  amounted  to  hundreds. 
In  this  battle,  as  in  that  of  Badr,  supernatural  com- 
batants were  supposed  to  have  taken  part :  and 
indeed  in  some  verses  attributed  to  the  general, 
Malik,  son  of  \Auf,  and  which  may  conceivably  be 
his,  he  ascribes  the  ultimate  defeat  of  the  Hawazin 
entirely  to  the  intervention  of  Gabriel :  which,  since 
in  any  case  the  Moslem  force  was  treble  that  of  the 
Hawazin,  was  scarcely  to  be  expected.  Though  it 
is  probable  that  Mohammed  gladly  encouraged  the 
belief  in  supernatural  aid,  the  poets  of  his  side  do 
not  resort  to  this  explanation  of  their  success:  ex- 
cept indeed  that  they  admit  that  Allah,  in  whose 
cause  they  had  violated  all  ties  of  friendship,  was  on 
their  side.  The  chief  of  the  poets  on  this  occasion 
is  Abbas,  son  of  Mirdas,  of  whom  we  have  heard  be- 
fore ;  like  many  of  those  champions  he  had  a  grudge 
of  old  standing  against  some  of  the  Hawazin,  which 
he  was  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  avenging. 
The  piety  of  his  verses  renders  them  unusually  edi- 
fying, though  an  accident  unfortunately  revealed  to 
him  the  curious  fact  that  his  Prophet  could  not 
possibly  distinguish  verse  from  prose. 

Whether  however  the  angels  had  a  hand  in  the 
matter  or  not,  a  highly  important  success  was  gained, 
and  the  Prophet's  fortune  proved  constant  at  a  time 
when  a  reverse  would  have  had  serious  consequences : 
for  Abu  Sufyan  might  have  been  equal  to  taking 
advantage  of  a  disaster,  though  not  sufficiently  en- 
ergetic to  help  to  bring  one  about.  A  sarcastic 
comment  of  his  is  reported  to  the  effect  that  the 


402  Mohammed 

headlong  flight  of  the  Moslems  would  have  to  be 
stopped  by  the  sea  :  an  observation  which  provoked 
no  assent  from  the  unbelievers  to  whom  it  was 
made,  who  regarded  submission  to  a  Kurashite  as 
less  humiliating  than  submission  to  the  Hawazin. 
The  name  of  Hunain  was,  like  that  of  Badr,  thought 
worthy  of  mention  in  the  Koran :  a  sign  that  the 
Prophet  attached  great  importance  to  the  victory. 
Just  as  the  defeat  of  the  Kuraish  was  commenced  at 
Badr,  so  it  was  consummated  at  Hunain. 

After  the  victory  of  Hunain  it  was  naturally  the 
Prophet's  desire  to  take  Ta'if,  the  headquarters  of 
the  Thakif  tribe.  Of  that  tribe  some  members  had 
already  visited  the  Prophet  at  Medinah,  where  he 
had  a  tent  (Kubbah)  erected  for  them,  and  after 
evening  prayer  discoursed  with  them  for  hours; 
complaining  of  the  Meccans,  and  showing  how  the 
condition  of  his  followers  had  bettered  since  the 
Flight.*  Ta'if  was  a  walled  town,  as  perhaps  its 
name  signifies  ;  situated  in  an  oasis  of  sweet  water 
and  fertile  soil ;  not  more  than  thirty-six  hours'  jour- 
ney from  Meccah.f  It  lies  in  a  plain  surrounded  by 
mountains  in  horseshoe  form,  with  the  opening  fac- 
ing the  east.  These  mountains  are  diversified  by 
little  valleys  descending  to  the  plain,  which  all  round 
the  city  is  divided  into  gardens.  Fruit  trees  of 
fourteen  kinds  are  enumerated  by  Tamisier  as  cul- 
tivated in  the  orchards:  but  the  cultivation  of  the 
vine  gave  Ta'if  the  greatest  celebrity  in  ancient 
times ;  the  raisins  made  from  them  looked  like  flasks 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  343. 

•{■Visited  by  J.  Hamilton,  Tamisier,  and  Doughty. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  403 

of  purified  honey*:  and  even  now  great  quantities 
of  grapes  are  grown  there  fo*r  the  Meccan  market. 
Various  kinds  of  grain  are  cultivated  besides :  and  of 
some  there  are  several  crops.  In  the  neighbourhood 
there  is  abundance  of  clay  suitable  for  brickmaking. 
Here  then  was  plunder  even  more  desirable  than 
that  of  Khaibar.  Of  the  fabulous  history  of  Ta'if 
we  need  repeat  nothing  here:  its  inhabitants,  owing 
to  the  accumulation  of  wealth  and  the  cultivation  of 
peaceful  industry,  had  acquired  some  knowledge  of 
the  arts  of  building  and  of  war:  the  biographers  de- 
clare that  at  the  time  when  Hunain  was  being  fought 
two  of  their  chiefs,  'Urwah,  son  of  Mas'ud,  and  Ghai- 
lan,  son  of  Salamah,  were  away  at  Jurash  in  Yemen, 
to  learn  the  making  of  engines  of  artillery.  'Urwah 
was  the  man  "  honoured  in  both  towns,"  to  whom,  ac- 
cording to  the  Meccans  of  old  time,  God  should 
have  sent  a  revelation  if  He  sent  one  at  all.  Ghai- 
lan  was  one  of  the  sages  of  his  time,  whose  adages 
had  so  pleased  a  Persian  king  that  a  royal  architect 
had  been  sent  to  build  a  fort  for  him  at  Ta'if.f 
Before  the  siege  was  over  they  were  back,  with  some 
knowledge  that  proved  of  service :  though  we  know 
not  why  Jurash  should  have  been  the  school  for  this 
sort  of  learning.  Against  Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  the 
unsuccessful  leader  at  Hunain,  they  closed  the  gates4 
His  castle,  which  lay  not  far  off,  was  destroyed  by  the 
Prophet,  and  he  was  presently  forced  to  become  a 
Moslem. 


*  Mez,  ein  Baghdader  Sittenbild,  48. 

\Isabah,  iii.,  377. 

%  So  Wakidi.    But  Ishak,  879,  puts  him  at  Ta'if. 


404  Mohammed 

The  Prophet's  course  to  Ta'if  is  thus  given : 
Nakhlah  Yamaniyyeh,  Karn,  Mulaih,  Buhrat  al- 
Rugha,  then  a  road  called  the  Narrow  which  the 
Prophet  after  his  fashion  renamed  the  Easy ;  then 
Nakhb.  Of  these  places  Karn  (or  Karn  al-Manazil) 
is  marked  on  Doughty 's  map :  it  is  there  at  the  head 
of  the  curve  which  the  road,  directed  by  the  wadis, 
follows,  going  first  directly  to  the  north,  and  at 
this  point  turning  round  to  the  south,  towards  Ta'if, 
which  lies  to  the  east  of  Meccah.  Mosques  were 
founded  by  him  or  by  his  followers  at  the  places 
at  which  he  alighted  during  his  route.  He  entered 
the  horseshoe  plain  wherein  Ta'if  lies,  and  destroyed 
some  of  the  plantations.  When  he  found  the  gates 
closed  and  a  determined  resistance  offered  he  en- 
deavoured to  frighten  the  Thakafites  into  submission 
by  wholesale  destruction  of  their  property.  This 
was  how  he  had  dealt  with  the  Banu  Nadir.  But 
the  Thakafites  were  not  Jews. 

The  siege  of  Ta'if  marks  a  great  stage  in  the  pro- 
gress of  Islam,  in  that  the  Prophet  resorted  to  the 
employment  of  engines  of  war,  the  sort  of  siege  artil- 
lery which  was  in  use  before  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder. We  are  not  told  on  this  occasion  (as  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Ditch)  who  his  engineer  was,  but 
by  this  time  he  had  been  joined  by  Arabs  who  were 
acquainted  with  Byzantine  modes  of  warfare,  and 
perhaps  were  equal  to  the  not  very  advanced  mechan- 
ical knowledge  requisite  for  a  first  attempt.  Accord- 
ing to  the  plans  of  these  persons  a  wooden  shed  was 
built,  similar  to  those  under  which  the  Romans  had 
been  accustomed  to  advance  in  order  to   effect   a 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  405 

breach  in  the  enemies'  walls  :  but  the  Thakafites 
burnt  it  over  the  soldiers'  heads  by  a  shower  of  red- 
hot  iron  bars:  and  then  took  aim  with  their  arrows 
at  the  Moslems  as  they  fled  out  of  their  untenable 
cover.  That  day  was  called  the  "  day  of  the  sword," 
and  was  indeed  notable :  hitherto  the  Prophet's 
forces  had  met  with  no  power  of  self-defence ;  the 
Thakif  showed  that  prosperity  and  wealth  might  be 
accompanied  by  some  knowledge  of  war. 

How  long  the  Prophet  persisted  in  the  siege  is  not 
known  :  the  accounts  vary  between  twenty  and  forty 
days.  The  classical  expedient  of  promising  liberty 
to  slaves  who  joined  him  brought  him  a  score  of 
deserters  who  let  themselves  down  from  the  wall.* 
The  Thakafites  declared  that  they  were  provisioned 
for  two  years :  which  was  certainly  a  longer  period 
than  the  Moslems  could  afford  to  wait.  The  Pro- 
phet presently  had  a  dream  which  suggested  that  he 
was  not  to  succeed  this  time :  this  gloomy  prognos- 
tication is  said  to  have  leaked  out  through  a  woman 
who  wished  to  secure  for  herself  the  jewels  of  some 
wealthy  lady  of  Ta'if,  and  was  told  by  the  Prophet 
that  there  was  no  chance  of  her  getting  them  :  and 
the  news  that  the  siege  was  to  be  abandoned  causing 
serious  disappointment,  the  Moslems  were  exhorted 
to  make  a  final  attempt  at  carrying  the  place  by 
storm :  in  which  they  were  again  repulsed,  and  Abu 
Sufyan's  conversion  was  confirmed  by  the  loss  of 
one  of  his  eyes.  The  Moslems  no  longer  objected 
to  the  order  for  retreat:  and  the  brave  resistance 
of    Ta'if   even    extorted    some   compliments   from 

*On  these  slaves  see  Isabah,  ii.,  717. 


406  Mohammed 

Moslems  whose  nature  had  not  been  changed  entirely 
by  the  new  religion. 

The  resistance  of  Ta'if,  coming  at  this  period  of 
Islam,  was  of  no  permanent  importance.  But  it 
showed  that  if  other  fortresses  had  yielded  with 
scarcely  a  blow  when  the  Moslem  members  were  still 
few,  it  was  because  there  were  no  men  behind  them. 
Meccah  had  had  plenty  of  time  to  prepare  for  a 
siege,  and  might  have  made  common  cause  with 
Ta'if,  if  Abu  Sufyan's  party  had  been  in  earnest. 

The  Prophet  with  excellent  forethought  had  kept 
the  spoils  of  Hunain  undivided  :  they  were  stored 
at  Ji'irranah,  some  dozen  miles  from  Meccah,  doubt- 
less under  good  custody.  The  folly  of  the  Hawazin 
in  bringing  their  families  and  possessions  to  the 
battle-field  caused  the  plunder  of  Hunain  to  be  pecu- 
liarly rich :  therefore  although  the  Prophet  would 
have  gladly  seen  it  merged  in  the  spoil  of  Ta'if,  there 
was  enough  to  allay  discontent,  and  cause  the  failure 
of  the  siege  to  be  forgotten.  Yet  the  whole  of  this  was 
not  to  go  to  the  conquerors.  The  defeated  Hawazin 
had  meanwhile  decided  to  be  converted,  and  sent 
to  Ji'irranah  to  announce  their  reformation  to  the 
Prophet :  with  the  request  that,  as  they  were  now 
Moslems,  they  might  receive  back  their  families  and 
their  goods.  Obviously  they  could  not  have  both : 
and  being  given  their  choice  they  preferred  their 
women  and  children ;  there  being  some  question 
whether  the  Moslems  would  consent  to  part  with 
this  valuable  half  of  the  plunder :  the  more  so,  as  in 
order  to  quiet  the  consciences  of  those  who  hesitated 
to  violate  the  married  women  (whose  husbands  had 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  407 

not  been  killed),  the  Prophet  had,  on  divine  author- 
ity, declared  that  marriage  is  annulled  by  captivity. 
The  older  followers  of  the  Prophet  readily  consented 
to  sacrifice  their  slaves  and  concubines :  the  newer 
converts,  anxious  to  taste  the  blessings  of  the  re- 
ligion they  had  adopted,  kept  a  tighter  hold  on  their 
prizes  :  which  however  they  were  induced  to  give  up 
on  the  promise  of  a  large  share  in  the  next  booty 
which  the  Prophet  could  secure. 

With  regard  to  the  property  of  the  Hawazin,  about 
the  division  of  which  there  was  to  be  no  question, 
the  Prophet  took  a  hint  from  the  willingness  of  the 
Medir.ese  to  sacrifice  their  worldly  advantages.  To 
them  he  gave  nothing:  instead  he  bestowed  enor- 
mous gratuities  on  his  former  enemies,  the  chieftains 
of  the  Kuraish,  such  as  Abu  Sufyan  and  his  sons, 
and  the  Banu  Sulaim  who  had  won  the  battle  for  him. 
While  persons  who  had  no  faith  were  given  one 
hundred  camels  apiece,  others  who  were  acknow- 
ledged to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth  were  told  to  find  in 
faith  its  own  reward.*  Nay,  even  the  leader  of 
the  Hawazin,  Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  was  offered  one 
hundred  camels  if  he  would  turn  Moslem  :  and  the 
brave  warrior  was  persuaded  and  joined  the  fold. 
The  Prophet  confessed  with  naive  frankness  that 
these  presents  were  meant  to  confirm  the  new  con- 
verts in  their  faith  ;  as  we  have  often  seen,  he  never 
troubled  himself  about  the  motives  which  produced 
conviction.  The  motives  which  dictated  this  strange 
policy  are  hard  to  fathom :  ill-gotten  gains  are  con- 
sumed too  quickly  for  us  to  suppose  that  he  hoped 

+  Isabah,  i  ,  688. 


408  Mohammed 

to  win  the  permanent  gratitude  of  his  former  ene- 
mies by  such  bribes  :  perhaps  the  sour  faces  with 
which  the  Kurashites  met  the  members  of  the 
Prophet's  family  made  him  devise  a  plan  for  saving 
his  relatives  from  annoyance  *  ;  perhaps  he  thought 
it  all-important  to  impress  the  Meccans  with  the 
magnificence  of  his  gifts,  as  he  had  impressed  them 
before  with  his  regal  state :  and  this,  he  knew,  could 
safely  be  done  at  the  expense  of  the  Medinese — as 
indeed  some  professed  to  be  convinced  of  his  divine 
mission  by  his  lavish  munificence,  which  exceeded  all 
human  performance  f ;  and  casual  visitors  to  Medi- 
nah  were  treated  so  handsomely  that  they  could 
promise  their  tribesmen  independence  for  life  if  they 
became  Moslems.  %  The  Medinese  indeed  felt  they 
were  not  fairly  treated,  and  their  indignation  found 
voice :  which  led  to  a  scene  of  the  sort  beloved  by 
the  theatrical,  in  which  the  quarrels  of  lovers  lead 
to  the  renewal  of  love.  The  Prophet  summons  his 
faithful  "Helpers"  and  laments  that  they  are  dis- 
satisfied with  his  conduct.  The  thought  that  any 
words  of  theirs  have  given  the  Prophet  pain  banishes 
from  their  hearts  the  memory  of  their  wrong:  the 
Helpers  declare  that  they  owe  everything  to  the 
Prophet,  and  the  Prophet  gladly  acknowledges  that 
he  owes  everything  to  them.  Tears  flow  copiously 
on  both  sides :  and  the  deputation  leaves  the  sacred 
presence  with  the  proud  thought  that  they  are 
coming  off  with  a  greater  prize  than  their  new  allies. 
If  the  others  take  home  with  them  sheep  and  camels, 

*  Musnad,  i.,  207. 

f  Jahiz,  Misers,  170.         \Musnad,  iii.,    108. 


The  Taking  of  Meccah  409 

they  will  go  home  with  the  Prophet  of  God.  So  the 
Prophet,  not  for  the  first  time,  paid  words  instead  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  passing  this 
coin.  Omar  indeed  was  near,  ready  to  behead  any 
one,  friend  or  foe,  who  charged  God's  messenger 
with  injustice  :  but  God's  messenger  had  no  real 
occasion  for  his  services.  Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  turned 
out  to  be  well  worth  the  buying  :  for  he  harassed 
his  former  allies  the  Thakif  as  unremittingly  as  Mo- 
hammed himself  had  raided  the  Kuraish. 

The  visit  to  Meccah  which  had  been  accompanied 
with  so  many  vicissitudes  was  terminated  by  the 
Prophet  going  through  the  ceremonies  of  the  lesser 
pilgrimage.  Afterwards,  'Akib,  son  of  Usaid,  was 
appointed  governor  of  Meccah  at  a  salary  of  a  dir 
hem  a  day :  this  was  the  first  permanent  civil  ap- 
pointment made  in  Islam  ;  at  Khaibar,  the  only 
other  city  of  importance  which  the  Moslems  had 
captured,  the  local  government  had  been  left.  Be- 
sides the  governor  a  spiritual  officer  was  left,  Mu'adh, 
son  of  Jabal,  a  native  of  Medinah,  in  whose  com- 
petence to  teach  the  new  religion  the  Prophet  had 
confidence.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of 
attractive  appearance,  and  free-handed  :  the  latter 
virtue  had  at  one  time  brought  him  into  the  bank- 
ruptcy court.*  Both  these  men  were  under  thirty 
years  of  age.  After  thus  settling  the  affairs  of  Mec- 
cah, the  Prophet  went  home,  followed  by  the  portion 
of  the  booty  of  Hunain  which  he  had  reserved. 

*  This  expression  is  not  inaccurate.  Mohammed,  to  whom  the 
creditors  applied,  was  requested  to  hand  Mu'adh's  person  over  to 
them  ;  instead  of  this  he  collected  enough  to  pay  them  a  dividend  of 
f. — Ibn  Sad,  II.,  ii.,  123. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  ARABIA 

THE  return  to  Medinah  *  was  probably  somewhat 
in  the  nature  of  a  triumphal  entry,  and,  as  has 
been  seen,  Mohammed  had  reserved  some  of 
the  plunder  of  Hunain  for  display  on  this  occasion, 
lest  the  victory  should  appear  barren  or  ambiguous. 
Medinah  was  now  in  the  position  of  the  capital  of  an 
empire  —  sending  out  rulers  to  subject  tribes,  and 
tax-gatherers  to  collect  tribute.  Moreover  the  pro- 
spect of  the  subjection  of  the  heroic  Thakafites  had 
brightened,  as  before  the  Prophet  had  reached  his 
home  he  received  the  submission  of  'Urwah,  son  of 
Mas'ud,  one  of  the  pair  whose  ability  had  saved 
Ta'if  from  storm.  What  can  have  occurred  to 
make  this  man  change  his  mind  so  quickly  we  know 
not :  his  townsmen  were  for  the  moment  less  fickle, 
for  when  he  returned  to  Ta'if  expecting  his  example 
to  be  followed  without  hesitation,  he  was  unde- 
ceived :  a  shower  of  missiles  ended  the  turncoat's 
life. 

Another  visitor  to  Medinah  about  this  time  was 
the  poet  Ka'b,  son  of  Zuhair.      His  father  was  a 

*  Dhu'l-Ka'dah  24,  a.h.  8;  identified  with  March  16,  A.D.  630. 
410 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  41 1 

Bedouin  poet  of  great  and  deserved  celebrity :  of 
the  verses  ascribed  to  these  early  bards  those  which 
bear  his  name  are  of  the  highest  quality :  for  they 
embody  many  a  wise  and  noble  sentiment.  The 
son,  like  other  rhymesters  of  the  time,  had  employed 
some  of  his  energy  in  lampooning  Mohammed,  and 
taunted  his  Moslem  brother  with  following  a  system 
of  which  their  parents  had  known  nothing.  Arabia 
was  quickly  becoming  too  hot  to  hold  an  idolator, 
and  the  poetic  gift  might  be  turned  to  profitable  ac- 
count in  the  services  of  the  new  monarch.  At  Me- 
dinah  he  was  directed  to  where  the  Prophet  sat  (or 
squatted)  in  the  centre  of  a  throng  :  round  him  were 
a  series  of  ever-expanding  circles ;  listening  with 
bated  breath  to  his  wise  utterances.  To  the  very 
centre  of  this  audience  the  poet  found  his  way  and 
recited  his  apologetic  ode — containing  some  loud 
praise  of  the  Prophet  and  the  Refugees,  some  hid- 
den sneers  at  the  Helpers.*  The  Prophet  bade  the 
audience  listen,  and  when  the  poem  was  concluded 
accorded  the  poet  forgiveness,  with  a  request  (easily 
granted)  that  he  would  compose  some  verses  in  praise 
of  his  Medinese  friends. 

Although  this  poem  counts  as  one  of  the  classical 
compositions  of  Arabia,  its  beauties  were  very  likely 
lost  on  the  Prophet,  who,  however,  was  not  unwilling 
to  be  shown  how  the  land  lay.  The  poets  had  be- 
fore this  given  him  considerable  trouble.  In  nomad 
Arabia  they  were  part  of  the  war  equipment  of  the 
tribe:  they  defended  their  own,  and  damaged  hostile 


*  This  suggests  that  the  dispute  recorded  above  had  attracted 
attention. 


4 1 2  Mohammed 

tribes,  by  the  employment  of  a  force  which  was 
supposed  indeed  to  work  mysteriously,  but  which  in 
fact  consisted  in  composing  dexterous  phrases  of 
a  sort  that  would  attract  notice,  and  would  conse- 
quently be  diffused  and  remembered  widely.  The 
attraction  to  Medinah  of  poets  who  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  tribes  who  had  given  the  Prophet 
shelter  showed  that  it  was  coming  to  be  recognised 
as  the  residence  of  a  sovereign  who  had  it  in  his 
power  to  reward  dexterous  encomiums  of  himself. 
Ka'b,  the  son  of  Zuhair,  was  the  first  of  the  legion  of 
poets  who  haunted  the  courts  of  the  Moslem  mon- 
archs,  and  by  whose  efforts  the  Arabic  encomium 
became  a  rather  remarkable  work  of  art :  and  the  ex- 
ample which  he  set  of  veering  with  every  wind  was 
also  not  neglected  by  his  followers. 

When  the  Arabs  hastened  to  accept  Islam  they 
were  apt  to  overlook  one  portion  of  its  require- 
ments, viz. :  the  regular  payment  of  a  tax,  called  by 
a  euphemism  Alms.  The  stages  by  which  the  Alms 
had  reached  the  character  of  a  tax  cannot  now  be 
traced :  it  began  without  doubt  in  voluntary  contri- 
butions which  the  wealthier  members  of  the  com- 
munity were  desired  to  provide  for  the  support  of 
the  poorer  members  :  and  indeed  the  names  for  the 
institution  seem  quite  certainly  Jewish  terms,  of 
which  one  signifies  "  righteousness "  and  the  other 
"  merit,"  but  of  which  the  former  even  in  biblical 
times  had  a  tendency  to  signify  "  alms-giving."  In 
the  Koran,  however,  as  in  the  Bible,  alms-giving  is 
rather  recommended  as  a  virtuous  act  than  definitely 
assessed  as  an   amount   which   each    believer  must 


The  Settlement  of  A  rabia  4 1 3 

contribute :  nor  do  the  Jewish  codes  appear  to 
assess  it,*  though  the  modes  in  which  it  can  be  given 
and  the  purposes  to  which  it  can  be  applied  are 
clearly  defined :  and  it  is  assumed  that  officials  will 
be  appointed  whose  business  is  to  collect  the  Alms. 
The  Jewish  Alms  resembled  therefore  the  Christian 
informal  collections,  and  while  the  Moslem  com- 
munity embraced  a  modest  number  of  persons  it  was 
recommended  rather  than  enforced :  and  when  the 
Prophet  declared  that  "  true  charity  would  not  be 
attained  till  men  spent  of  their  favourite  posses- 
sions," the  valuable  gifts  which  that  aphorism  called 
forth  all  came  under  the  head  of  "Alms."  Abu 
Bakr  is  said  to  have  "  given  in  Alms  "  all  that  he 
possessed :  Othman,  son  of  'Affan,  redeemed  some 
serious  shortcomings  by  his  liberality  in  alms-giving. 
But  the  idea  of  enforcing  Alms  as  a  yearly  tribute 
appears  to  belong  to  the  period  when  the  necessity 
for  organisation  of  the  state  on  some  sort  of  financial 
basis  had  arisen  ;  when  money  was  wanted,  and  the 
expedient  which  had  till  now  been  employed,  rob- 
bery of  Jews,  was  no  longer  available,  owing  to  the 
Jews  having  all  been  either  massacred  or  despoiled. 
Experience  had  shown  the  Prophet  that  the  new 
converts  were  much  more  anxious  to  receive  than  to 
give  :  lavish  presents  had  been  deemed  advisable  in 
the  case  of  the  Meccans  to  induce  them  to  remain 
faithful  to  Islam.  There  was,  therefore,  no  prospect 
of  the  new  accessions  offering  to  contribute  of  their 
own  account:  the  idea  of  imposing  a  contribution 
upon  them  in  the  form  of  a  tax  appears  to  have 

*  Cp.  Saalschtttz,  Mosaisckcs  Kecht,  284. 


414  Mohammed 

originated  with  Abu  Bakr,  who  at  the  commencement 
of  his  Caliphate  made  the  refusal  to  pay  it  a  ground 
for  war  ;  it  is  said,  against  the  opinion  of  Omar,  who 
however  eventually  accepted  this  doctrine.  Abu 
Bakr  was  quoted  in  after  times  *  as  the  possessor  of 
a  code  drawn  up  by  the  Prophet,  which  went  into 
the  details  concerning  contributions  in  kind  and 
afterwards  became  the  law  of  Islam.  The  assess- 
ment which  eventually  prevailed  makes  the  contri- 
bution on  each  sort  of  produce  amount  to  about 
one  fortieth  (two  and  a  half  per  cent.),  although  in 
the  case  of  contributions  in  kind  many  special  regu- 
lations enter :  a  camel  is  in  general  made  the  equiva- 
lent of  ten  sheep,  and  one  sheep  of  twenty  dirhems. 
It  is  not  probable  that  this  tariff  was  settled  till 
a  variety  of  experiments  had  been  tried. 

Early  in  the  ninth  year  Bishr,  son  of  Sufyan,  went 
to  the  tribes  Khuza'ah  and  Tamim  to  collect  the 
Alms.  The  Banu  Ka'b,  a  clan  of  the  former,  allowed 
their  contribution  to  be  collected  :  but  the  Tamim 
dissuaded  them  from  letting  the  collector  take  it, 
and  both  denied  that  the  religion  which  they  had 
joined  involved  any  such  sacrifice.  The  Prophet,  on 
hearing  the  news  of  this  insubordination,  took  rapid 
measures  to  quell  it.  'Uyainah,  son  of  Hisn,  was 
sent  with  a  force  of  fifty  Arabs,  who  practised  the 
manoeuvre  regularly  employed  on  these  raiding  ex- 
peditions— journeying  at  night,  and  hiding  during 
the  day.  They  succeeded  in  effecting  a  consider, 
able  capture  of  men,  women,  and  children,  whom 
they  brought  to  Medinah.     The  Banu  Tamim  there- 

*  Nasa'u 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  415 

upon  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Prophet,  containing 
their  chief  orator,  'Ut  arid  son  of  Hajib,  and  their 
chief  poet,  Al-Akra\  son  of  Habis.  They  probably 
despaired  of  gaining  any  advantage  over  the  Moslems 
in  the  field  :  but  the  difference  between  the  shafts  of 
the  quiver  and  those  of  the  mouth  was  ill  under- 
stood by  the  Arabs,  and  they  hoped  to  compensate 
for  their  inadequate  equipment  for  actual  warfare 
by  outboasting  the  Prophet;  and  indeed  they  are 
said  to  have  summoned  the  Prophet  with  a  certain 
amount  of  brusqueness  to  a  boasting-match.  The 
Apostle  of  God  naturally  declined  to  enter  the  lists 
himself :  if  nothing  else  had  prevented  him,  his  remin- 
iscences of  similar  matches  at  Meccah  were  not  alto- 
gether encouraging :  but  he  had  his  champions  ready  : 
the  poet  Hassan,  son  of  Thabit,  whom  Mohammed 
had  taken  pains  to  conciliate  after  he  had  been  justly 
punished,  and  the  orator  Thabit,  son  of  Kais.  With 
these  allies  he  had  no  hesitation  in  letting  the  old- 
fashioned  debate  commence.  The  rival  poets  and 
orators  boasted  of  the  achievements  of  their  respect- 
ive tribes  in  fluent  phrase  and  rolling  verse.  The 
conclusion  however  was  a  foregone  one  :  the  Tamim 
would  not  have  resorted  to  a  verbal  contest  had  they 
had  any  intention  of  fighting  ;  nor  would  the  Prophet 
have  permitted  it,  except  as  an  act  of  courtesy. 
When  the  prize  compositions  had  been  delivered, 
the  Tamim  delegates  naturally  declared  themselves 
satisfied  with  the  superiority  of  the  poetry  and  rhet- 
oric which  had  been  enlisted  on  the  side  of  Islam. 
The  prisoners  were  restored  to  the  Tamimites  and 
their  delegates  given  the  douceur  ordinarily  granted 


4 1 6  Mohammed 

to  ambassadors ;  but  they  were  doubtless  also  given 
to  understand  that  the  tribute  must  be  paid.  For 
Hassan  Ibn  Thabit,  owing  to  his  successful  defence 
of  the  Prophet,  a  pulpit  was  erected  in  the  Mosque.* 

Another  incident  also  illustrated  the  unwilling- 
ness with  which  the  Alms  were  contributed.  To 
the  Banu  Mustalik,  whose  name  has  already  met 
us,  a  tax-gatherer  was  sent  who  was  involved  in  a 
blood-feud  with  this  tribe  dating  from  the  time  before 
Islam.  The  mode  in  which  the  tribe  came  to  meet 
him  suggested  to  him  that  they  meant  mischief: 
and  he  accordingly  hurried  back  to  Medinah.  The 
Mustalik,  now  that  their  prize  had  escaped  them, 
were  unwilling  to  bring  on  themselves  a  raid  from 
Medinah,  and  sent  the  most  solemn  assurances  that 
their  intentions  had  been  most  honourable.  The 
Prophet  sent  Khalid  with  a  force  to  find  out :  and,  if 
there  were  any  signs  of  falling  away  from  Islam,  to 
raid  them.  Finding  the  tribes  were  punctiliously 
performing  their  devotions,  he  was  compelled  to 
bring  home  a  favourable  report,  and  there  was  no 
further  difficulty  about  the  Alms. 

Some  part  of  this  year  (9)  was  also  taken  up  with 
domestic  troubles,  of  which  a  variety  of  accounts 
are  given,  but  none  quite  edifying :  nor  would  allu- 
sion to  them  have  been  desirable  had  not  a  place  in  the 
Koran  been  assigned  to  them.  Hafsah,  the  daughter 
of  Omar,  who,  after  the  death  of  her  husband  at 
Badr,  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  another,  and 
was  taken  by  the  Prophet  for  political  reasons,  was 
a  woman  of  violent  temper :  and,  finding  her  rights 

*  Musnad,  vi.,  72. 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  4 1 7 

infringed  in  favour  of  the  concubine  Mariah,  made 
a  disturbance  in  which  the  other  members  of  the 
now  numerous  harem  took  her  part.  The  Prophet 
would  appear  to  have  given  his  word  to  Hafsah  that 
he  would  for  the  future  avoid  the  society  of  Mariah  : 
and  having  given  it,  obtained  divine  permission  not 
to  keep  it;  his  breach  of  faith  with  Hafsah  being 
excused  by  her  having  revealed  a  secret  which  she 
had  promised  to  keep.  Owing  to  the  violent  re- 
proaches bestowed  on  him  by  the  members  of  the 
harem,  he  resolved  to  quit  their  society  for  a  whole 
month,  and  even  threatened  to  divorce  the  whole 
set.  The  harem  probably  knew  him  too  well  to 
fear  this  threat:  and  the  month  had  not  expired 
before  he  made  his  peace  with  them ;  to  account  for 
which  he  produced  a  half-serious,  half-comic  revela- 
tion,* in  which  they  are  assured  that  the  Prophet 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  another  set  of 
wives,  their  equal  in  every  respect,  should  extreme 
measures  be  necessary.  Some  of  the  biographers 
reproduce  for  our  benefit  the  curious  scene — the 
Prophet  lying  in  an  upper  chamber,  accessible  by 
a  ladder:  nothing  but  a  reed  mat  separates  him 
from  the  floor.  Close  on  a  month  of  domestic 
broils  has  rendered  the  Prophet  haggard  and  woe- 
begone in  the  extreme.  Omar  mounts  the  ladder 
in  extreme  distress  of  mind  and  asks  the  Prophet 
whether  it  is  true  that  he  has  divorced  his  wives. 
The  Prophet,  who  has  now  made  up  his  mind, 
replies  in  the  negative,  at  which  Omar  shouts 
"  Hurrah  ! "  ("  God  is  mighty  ")  in  a  voice  that  can  be 

*  Surah  lxvi. 


4i  8  Mohammed 

heard  over  a  large  part  of  Medinah.  The  painful 
incident  is  at  an  end.  Another  of  those  domestic 
scenes  is  somewhat  different  in  character.  Abu 
Bakr  and  Omar  knock  at  the  Prophet's  door  and 
at  first  cannot  obtain  admission.  When  they  are 
admitted  they  find  the  Prophet  seated  gloomily 
silent  with  his  wives  around  him.  They  have  been 
asking  for  household  supplies  which  the  Prophet 
cannot  provide.  Omar,  hoping  to  cheer  the  Prophet, 
narrates  how  his  wife  had  been  demanding  money, 
and  he  had  replied  by  a  sound  blow  on  her  neck. 
The  Prophet,  exploding  with  laughter,  explains  that 
his  wives  were  equally  importunate.  The  two  friends 
wish  to  try  Omar's  expedient  with  their  respective 
daughters.  This  the  Prophet  does  not  permit :  but 
he  gives  his  wives  the  choice  of  quitting  him  if  they 
prefer  the  present  world.  Ayeshah  declines  the 
offer,  and  the  others  follow  suit.* 

After  the  conclusion  of  this  trial  of  forces,  in 
Rejeb  of  the  year  9,  f  the  Prophet  summoned 
his  followers  to  arms  to  attack  the  Byzantines  at 
Tabuk.  Tabuk  is  a  station  on  the  Pilgrim  road, 
visited  in  recent  times  by  Doughty  and  Huber:  it  is 
half-way  between  Damascus  and  Medinah.  In- 
formation had  been  brought  the  Prophet  by  some 
Nabataean  merchants  that  a  great  Byzantine  force 
was  assembled  there,  with  Arabian  allies  of  the 
tribes  Lakhm,  Judham,  Ghassan,  and  'Amilah.  The 
report  was  probably  a  false  one  %   and  indeed  ac- 


*  Musnad,  iii. ,  328. 

f  Identified  with  Oct.-Nov.,  a.d.  630. 

\Diyarbekrit  ii.,  136. 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  419 

cording  to  one  account  the  Christian  Arabs  had 
prematurely  announced  to  Heraclius  the  Prophet's 
death ;  whence  there  would  have  been  no  occasion 
for  such  a  levy.  Nevertheless  the  Prophet  believed 
it,  and  was  probably  anxious  by  a  brilliant  victory  to 
bring  into  oblivion  a  variety  of  troubles  that  had 
accumulated :  the  defeat  of  Mutah,  the  domestic 
disputes,  and  the  unfair  division  of  the  booty  of 
Hunain. 

The  effects  of  this  last  scandal  now  began  to  ap- 
pear. The  people  of  Medinah  showed  themselves 
unready  to  join  in  an  expedition  of  which  the  profits 
would  probably  fall  to  others.  Complaints  were 
made  of  the  season  of  the  year,  of  distress,  and  sick- 
ness: the  party  of  the  "  Hypocrites,"  began  to 
raise  its  head,  and  even  a  Jew  named  Suwailim 
had  the  folly  to  allow  his  house  to  be  made  a  ren- 
dezvous of  malcontents :  with  the  very  natural  and 
indeed  inevitable  result  that  the  Prophet  sent  an 
emissary  to  burn  the  Jew's  house  over  his  head  ; 
the  malcontents  escaped  from  the  flames  not  with- 
out personal  injury.  We  are  asked  to  believe  that 
Abdallah  Ibn  Ubayy  got  a  fresh  opportunity  of 
acting  as  he  had  acted  at  Uhud  before  :  he  is  said 
to  have  equipped  a  force,  no  smaller  than  Moham- 
med's, to  have  encamped  outside  Medinah  when  the 
Prophet  encamped,  then  to  have  refused  to  come 
farther,  on  the  ground  that  the  Moslem  force  was 
quite  unequal  to  a  contest  with  the  Byzantines. 
Unless  the  discontent  at  Medinah  went  far  beyond 
all  that  has  been  recorded  or  even  hinted  at,  we 
cannot  well  believe  that  the  arch- Hypocrite  can  after 


420  Mohammed 

all  that  had  passed  have  been  still  in  a  position  to 
adopt  his  old  tactics. 

Whether  Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy,  came  to  the 
front  again  or  not,  it  is  stated  that  the  Prophet  used 
his  utmost  efforts  to  collect  a  force  sufficient  for  any- 
emergency,  to  which  end  he  demanded  help  from 
all  the  new  accessories  to  Islam :  and  in  equipping 
the  force  (said  to  have  reached  30,000)  he  exhausted 
the  money  at  his  own  and  his  friends'  disposal.  He 
resolved  to  lead  the  army  himself,  and  some  criti- 
cism was  occasioned  by  his  sending  Ali  home  to  take 
care  of  the  royal  household. 

The  expedition  was  of  interest  to  the  Prophet  as 
leading  them  past  those  ruined  cities  of  whose 
history  the  Koran  was  so  full ;  the  rock-dwellings, 
as  he  supposed  them  to  be,  of  the  Thamud,  who, 
having  refused  to  hear  the  voice  of  their  prophet, 
had  been  destroyed,  their  rock-mansions  remaining 
as  a  monument  and  a  warning.  Recent  explorers 
have  proved  that  what  the  Prophet  supposed  to  be 
mansions  were  tombs:  but  Mohammed,  passing  by 
this  notorious  country,  could  not  fail  to  take  some 
notice  of  the  fact  that  they  were  in  presence  of  the 
great  theatre  of  the  divine  vengeance.  The  Mos- 
lems were  to  pass  by  those  deserted  habitations 
with  veiled  faces,  spurring  their  steeds :  they  were 
to  eat  and  drink  nothing  that  was  to  be  found  there, 
and  after  nightfall  when  they  encamped  they  were 
to  keep  together.  Fables  were  afterwards  invented 
showing  the  need  for  these  orders  by  the  fate  that 
befell  those  who  violated  them.  Many  years  had 
elapsed  since  Mohammed  had  first  heard  the  thrill- 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  421 

ing  story  of  the  fate  of  the  Thamud  from  some  story- 
tellers attached  to  a  caravan  :  and  truly  the  seed  had 
been  sown  on  wondrous  soil. 

The  record  of  the  expedition  to  Tabuk  is  charac- 
terised by  a  number  of  narratives  illustrating  "  Hypo- 
crisy," faint-heartedness,  and  even  desertion  on 
the  part  of  the  troops.  Of  the  expressions  of  dis- 
belief to  which  some  were  hardy  enough  to  give 
vent  the  Prophet  soon  heard,  whether  miraculously, 
or  in  virtue  of  the  system  of  espionage  which  had 
worked  so  well  at  Medinah :  and  according  to  the 
biographers  these  were  in  no  case  punished,  but  con- 
futed by  a  series  of  exhibitions  of  prophetic  power. 

It  is  further  interesting  to  notice  that  the  Moslems 
were  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  greatness 
of  the  Byzantine  power,  and  the  idea  that  to  fight 
them  would  be  wholly  different  from  fighting  the 
Arabs. 

Any  fears  which  they  might  have  entertained 
were  not  realised.  The  rumour  which  had  caused 
the  Prophet  to  start  on  his  expedition  was  a  false 
one:  there  was  no  Byzantine  army  to  be  met.  The 
Prophet,  however,  was  determined  that  his  march 
should  not  be  fruitless,  and  the  plan  of  imposing 
tribute  on  Christians  as  well  as  Jews  was  now 
matured  in  his  mind.  The  governor  of  Ailah,  at  the 
head  of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  whose  name,  Johanna, 
son  of  Rubah,  shows  him  to  have  been  a  Christian, 
was  induced  to  undertake  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the  Mos- 
lem leader :  good  authorities  tell  us  *  that  the  amount 
came  to  three  hundred  dinars — being  one  dinar  or  ten 

*  Baladhuri,  59. 


422  Mohammed 

francs  per  head.  The  way  was  thereby  prepared  for 
the  invasion  of  Egypt.  A  couple  of  Syrian  communi- 
ties, those  of  Jarba  and  Adhruh,  also  sent  in  their 
allegiance  and  undertook  to  pay  at  the  same  rate: 
the  money  was  to  be  paid  every  Rejeb.  From  the 
people  of  Makna,  being  Jews,  harder  terms  were  de- 
manded :  they  were  to  pay  one  quarter  of  their  pro- 
duce. A  document  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews  of 
this  place,  ensuring  their  full  protection  on  condition 
of  their  paying  this  proportion  of  the  product  of 
their  palms,  their  fisheries,  and  their  looms,  and  ad- 
mitting the  right  of  the  Prophet  to  their  slaves, 
horses  and  mules,  and  arms.  It  further  informs  us 
that  the  inhabitants  were  called  Banu  Habibah. 
Twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  produce  meant  ten  times 
the  amount  imposed  on  the  Moslems  as  alms.  These 
terms  are  so  hard  that  the  document  might  be 
thought  to  be  genuine  :  yet  the  signature  shows  it  to 
be  spurious — unless,  indeed,  the  agreement  was  not 
made  on  this  occasion. 

To  a  Christian  prince,  Ukaydir  of  Dumat  al-Jan- 
dal,  the  biblical  Duma,  a  force  was  sent  under  Kha- 
lid,  who  is  said  to  have  met  the  King  out  hunting, 
and  taken  him  captive,  having  killed  his  brother. 
The  prince  appears  to  have  readily  accepted  Islam, 
but  the  terms  made  with  him  and  his  people  were 
somewhat  harsh,  as  they  appear  in  a  document  the 
genuineness  of  which  is  attested  by  its  archaic  lan- 
guage.* All  their  arms  and  horses  were  to  be  put 
in  the  possession  of  the  Prophet,  who  also  claimed 
their  fortresses  and  their  unoccupied  or  uncultivated 

*  Baladhuri,  6x. 


The  Settlement  of  A  rabia  423 

lands.  The  rest  of  their  property  was  left  them, 
but  they  were  to  adhere  to  the  ordinances  of  Islam, 
which  are  here  specified  as  Prayer  and  Alms;  for 
the  collection  of  the  latter  certain  regulations  were 
made,  securing  that  it  should  not  be  unnecessarily 
onerous.  Probably  the  distance  of  this  community 
from  Medinah  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  Pro- 
phet to  impose  on  its  members  the  necessity  of 
military  service,  and  the  overpopulated  condition 
of  Medinah  rendered  it  undesirable  to  encourage 
further  emigration  thither.  His  policy  with  this 
outlying  acquisition  was  tentative,  and  not  imitated 
by  the  Caliphs. 

The  time  spent  over  these  negotiations  is  variously 
given  at  a  fortnight  or  two  months.  At  their  con- 
clusion he  started  homeward,  with  only  a  moderate 
amount  of  gain  :  the  coat,  embroidered  with  gold, 
of  the  brother  of  the  prince  of  Duma,  whom  Kha- 
lid  had  slain,  was  the  most  important  trophy  that 
he  took  home.  Omar  is  made  responsible  by  some 
authorities  for  the  retreat.  The  Byzantines,  he  sup- 
posed, had  heard  Of  the  Prophet's  expedition  and 
would  be  prepared  for  it. 

The  homeward  journey  showed  that  the  Prophet, 
like  other  founders  of  tyrannies,  was  becoming  un- 
popular. A  fresh  attempt  at  assassinating  him  is 
supposed  to  have  been  made  on  the  way  :  frustrated, 
as  others  had  been,  by  want  of  determination  on 
the  part  of  the  conspirators,  and  by  the  Prophet's 
constant  vigilance.  More  serious  still  was  the  fact 
that  Islam  had  begun  to  develop  dissent :  a  mosque, 
he  was  told,  had  been  built  near  Kuba,  "  with  the 


424  Mohammed 

view  of  spreading  dissent  among  the  Moslems,  and 
helping  the  Prophet's  enemy  "  :  and  this  enemy  is 
further  defined  as  "Abu  'Amir  the  Monk,"  the  citizen 
of  Medinah  who  had  embraced  monotheism  before 
the  Prophet's  arrival,  who  had  been  frightened 
away  by  the  Prophet's  religion,  who  had  vainly  en- 
deavored to  cause  desertion  on  the  part  of  the 
Helpers  at  Uhud,  and  who  after  Hunain  had  fled 
to  the  Byzantine  monarch  to  obtain  help  against 
the  successful  founder  of  Islam.  The  new  mosque 
had  not  been  founded  with  any  secrecy  and  the 
Prophet  had  been  requested  to  inaugurate  it.  The 
leader  of  prayer  there  was  one  Mujammi',  who  had 
won  fame  (and  perhaps  his  name)  from  his  zeal  in 
collecting  the  Koran.  But  the  secret  which  eked 
out,  or  the  account  which  the  Prophet  saw  grounds 
for  accepting,  was  that  this  mosque  was  meant  to 
serve  as  a  centre  for  the  followers  of  Abu  'Amir, 
when  he  should  arrive  with  his  Byzantine  allies : 
and  meanwhile  be  the  headquarters  of  a  secret 
society  whose  purpose  was  to  oust  the  Prophet. 
Mohammed's  method  with  such  designs  was  short 
and  effective.  Invited  for  the  second  time  to  in- 
augurate the  mosque,  he  sent  a  party  of  men  to 
burn  it  to  the  ground,  and  turn  it  into  a  dunghill 
for  the  future. 

Of  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  this  affair  nothing 
decided  will  ever  be  known  :  the  revelation  in  which 
it  is  mentioned,  and  which  contains  a  variety  of 
oracles  delivered  in  connection  with  the  expedition 
to  Tabuk,  is  in  a  tone  of  bitterness  and  vexation 
such  as  disappointment  and  opposition  are  likely  to 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  425 

engender  in  a  man  of  the  Prophet's  temperament. 
The  people  of  Medinah  and  their  new  Bedouin  allies 
are  charged  with  harbouring  Hypocrites  :  and  it  also 
appears  that  the  Koran  was  beginning  to  give  rise  to 
criticisms  of  the  sort  from  which  the  Prophet  had 
suffered  at  Meccah.  When  a  new  revelation  comes 
down,  the  people  at  Medinah  ask  each  other  sar- 
castically whether  their  faith  had  been  increased. 
Knots  of  people  are  found  talking  and  laughing: 
and  in  spite  of  the  most  earnest  denials,  the  Pro- 
phet is  of  opinion  that  the  Koran  has  provided  the 
materials  for  their  amusement.  This  recrudescence 
of  unbelief  was  probably  due  to  the  Prophet's  policy 
of  M  reconciling  hearts,"  *.  <?.,  persuading  men  by 
bribes  to  become  Moslems.  Persons  converted  in 
this  style  are  likely  to  have  retained  some  of  their 
choice  sarcasms  to  communicate  when  occasion  re- 
quired. There  is  also  one  verse  in  the  tirade  sug- 
gesting that  some  of  the  malcontents  disliked  the 
plan  of  living  on  plunder  which  was  now  character- 
istic of  Islam,  and  wished  a  more  honest  system  to 
be  inaugurated.  Of  the  builders  of  the  Mosque  of 
Dissent  not  sufficient  is  known  to  enable  us  to  es- 
timate their  purpose  correctly.  If  it  was  rightly  in- 
terpreted by  Mohammed,  it  would  follow  that  his 
example  had  already  deeply  impressed  the  Arabs 
with  the  notion  that  a  political  movement  must  be 
preceded  by  a  religious  movement :  that  the  pre- 
liminary operation  necessary  for  one  who  would 
start  a  revolution  is  to  build  a  church.  The  pro- 
gramme of  these  unsuccessful  conspirators  is  likely 
to  have  been  a  form  of  Abrahamism — such  as  Abu 


4.26  Mohammed 

'Amir  is  said  to  have  practised  :  which  he  charged 
Mohammed  with  having  corrupted.  Mohammed 
retorted  that  the  mosque  built  for  him  was  on  a 
quicksand,  ready  to  collapse  into  Hell-Fire. 

Both  at  the  time  when  the  expedition  to  Tabuk 
started  and  during  the  course  of  it  there  had  been 
many  desertions.  The  return  of  the  Prophet  filled 
the  guilty  with  alarm,  and  we  learn  from  the  Koran 
that  the  Prophet  reserved  some  of  the  cases  for  very 
special  deliberation.  One  of  these  persons  has  left 
us  an  account  of  his  sufferings,  illustrative  of  the 
Prophet's  ways.*  Ka'b,  son  of  Malik,  was  a  Khaz- 
rajite  who  had  received  eleven  wounds  at  Uhud,  and 
who  had  earned  an  estate  at  Khaibar.  He  was 
besides  a  poet  whose  muse  served  the  Prophet,  and 
is  even  said  to  have  intimidated  the  tribe  Daus  into 
adopting  Islam.  But  he  was  comfortable  at  Medi- 
nah  during  the  hot  weather,  and  through  indolence 
failed  to  be  ready  in  time  for  the  expedition,  and 
also  to  join  it  afterwards.  He  made  a  clean  breast 
to  the  Prophet,  who  reserved  his  case  with  that  of 
two  others  for  future  revelation  :  meanwhile  neither 
the  Prophet  nor  any  Moslem  would  speak  to  him. 
During  the  time  of  his  excommunication  a  message 
(he  stated)  came  to  him  from  the  Ghassanide  prince 
in  Syria,  offering  him  patronage  and  protection,  if  he 
chose  to  leave  Medinah  :  but  this  temptation  of  the 
Devil  he  rejected.  Presently  a  message  came  from 
the  Prophet  enjoining  on  the  three  delinquents  a 
penance  which  the  Prophet  undoubtedly  regarded 
as  a  severe  one :  for  a  time  they  were  to  be  parted 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  330. 


The  Settlement  of  A  rabia  427 

from  their  wives.  Meanwhile  all  three  continued 
practising  their  devotions  with  punctilious  regular- 
ity in  the  hope  that  the  Prophet's  wrath  might  pass 
over.  And  after  fifty  days  it  did  pass  over.  A  re- 
velation came  assuring  them  of  forgiveness.  Warm 
congratulations  poured  in  from  all  sides.  In  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  blessed  moment  Ka'b  was  ready 
to  give  away  everything  he  possessed,  as  a  thank- 
offering  for  his  readmission  to  the  society  of  the 
faithful.  When  the  people  of  Medinah  were  child- 
ren of  this  type,  what  wonder  that  a  grown  man 
could  mould  them  to  his  will !  Similarly  we  read 
of  others  who  were  kept  faithful  in  moments  of  ex- 
treme temptation  by  the  fear  of  being  made  the 
subject  of  a  text  in  the  Koran. 

Fortune  was  too  true  a  friend  to  the  Prophet  to 
permit  of  his  success  suffering  more  than  a  temp- 
orary eclipse.  Shortly  after  his  return  envoys  came 
from  Ta'if,  announcing  the  submission  of  tl>e  brave 
and  stubborn  Thakif.  The  last  that  has  been  heard 
of  the  Thakif  was  that  they  had  killed  their  chief- 
tain 'Urwah,  son  of  Mas'ud,  for  embracing  Islam, 
and  that  Malik,  son  of  'Auf,  their  former  ally,  was 
proving  his  sincerity  as  a  Moslem  by  making  it  un- 
safe for  them  to  go  outside  Ta'if.  Their  submis- 
sion was  hastened  on  by  the  belief  that  Mohammed 
was  irresistible  ;  that  protracted  resistance  would 
only  ensure  their  suffering  loss,  and  would  in  the 
end  be  ineffectual.  There  would  also  appear  to 
have  been  a  want  of  any  cause  for  which  many  of 
them  consciously  cared,  and  for  which  they  were 
prepared  to  suffer  or  die.     Their  procedure  appears 


428  Mohammed 

to  have  been  rather  more  methodical  and  dignified 
than  that  of  their  predecessors  in  submission.  A 
party  of  six  persons  were  sent  as  a  deputation  to 
Medinah,  drawn  from  different  strata  of  the  popu- 
lation :  a  smaller  number  might,  they  feared,  on 
their  return  fall  victims  to  another  wave  of  popular 
feeling.  These  envoys  also  when  they  reached 
Medinah  acted  with  caution,  and  endeavoured  to 
make  terms  with  the  Prophet :  they  would  fain 
have  retained  the  right  to  worship  their  idols  for  a 
period  of  time,  and  been  excused  the  five  daily 
prayers,  which  many  of  the  converts  found  exceed- 
ingly irksome ;  and  the  washings,  which  were  dis- 
agreeable in  their  cold  country*;  and  have  been 
permitted  to  take  interest,  drink  wine,  and  commit 
certain  sexual  irregularities,  f  Abu  Bakr  and  Omar 
took  care  that  the  Prophet  did  not  concede  too 
much :  experience  had  shown  them  that  Moham- 
med, when  the  main  concern  had  been  settled,  was 
over-facile  about  details.  Instructions  however  were 
given  to  Othman,  son  of  Abu  'l-'Asi,  a  young  man 
who  was  appointed  governor  as  a  reward  for  the  de- 
sire which  he  evinced  to  master  the  Koran,  not  to  be 
too  exigent  in  the  matter  of  the  ceremonies  of  Islam. 
The  terms  granted  to  Ta'  if  were  far  less  onerous  than 
those  to  which  the  people  of  Allah  had  had  to  sub- 
mit. The  old  sanctuary  of  the  goddess  Al-Lat  was 
to  be  respected  under  its  new  owner.:):  The  idah  (an 
herb  on  which  camels  browse)  and  the  game  of  Bajj 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  347. 
t  Wakidi  {W.\  384. 
\  Wellhausen,  Reste,  30. 


The  Settlement  of  A  rabia  429 

(the  old  name  for  Ta'  if)  were  to  be  left  alone  under 
severe  penalties.  However  the  Thakafites  were  to 
be  relieved  of  the  Alms  and  the  obligation  to  fight : 
Mohammed  observing  that  when  once  they  had  ac- 
cepted Islam  they  would  wish  both  to  pay  Alms  and 
to  take  part  in  the  sacred  war.  * 

The  Thakafites  had  further  stipulated  that  they 
should  not  be  compelled  to  break  their  own  idols. 
So  many  Moslems  were  willing  to  undertake  this 
pious  task  that  the  stipulation  might  have  seemed 
unnecessary :  the  two  who  were  finally  entrusted 
with  it  were  a  former  priest  of  the  goddess,f  Mughi- 
rah,  son  of  Shu'bah,  a  Thakafite  who  had  come  to 
Medinah  as  a  convert  some  years  before,  and  Abu 
Sufyan,  in  whose  ability  and  loyalty  Mohammed 
was  now  placing  extreme  confidence.  The  goddess 
of  the  place — a  white  stone — was  possessed  of  some 
wealth,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  prosperous 
condition  of  Ta'if:  it  was  lodged  in  a  hole  half 
a  fathom  deep,  under  the  stone.  %  Precautions  were 
taken  to  prevent  the  destroyers  from  becoming  the 
victims  of  popular  fury,  but  they  turned  out  to 
be  unnecessary.  The  women  indeed  bared  them- 
selves and  wept,  and  even  taunted  the  men  with  the 
betrayal  of  their  goddess  :  but  the  Arabs  had  a  doc- 
trine that  a  god  should  be  able  to  defend  himself, 
and  they  did  not  interfere  with  the  execution  of 
the  Prophet's  orders.  The  money  and  jewels  of 
the  goddess  were  taken  by  Abu  Sufyan,  who,  we 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  341. 

f  Wellkausen,  Reste%  31. 

X  IM*  31. 


430  Mohammed 

suppose,  was  accountable  for  them  to  the  Prophet. 
We  are  not  told  in  these  cases  what  became  of  the 
idolatrous  priests  who  hoped  against  hope  that  their 
gods  would  show  some  signs  of  resentment :  how- 
ever new  converts  could  easily  be  put  in  the  way  of 
acquiring  plunder,  whence  we  suppose  that  they 
earned  their  living  as  most  of  the  Moslems  at  this 
time  earned  theirs. 

This  year  was  marked  by  an  important  event  in 
the  history  of  Islam  :  the  first  Pilgrimage  over  which 
a  Moslem  official  presided.  Abu  Bakr  was  sent  to 
perform  this  honourable  task :  shortly  after  he  had 
started  the  Prophet  remembered  that  further  in- 
structions were  desirable.  A  revelation  was  there- 
fore produced,  being  indeed  a  manifesto  to  the 
Arabs  who  might  gather  for  the  Pilgrimage :  and 
Ali  was  sent  post  haste  to  communicate  it  to  Abu 
Bakr  while  there  was  still  time.  *  This  sanguinary 
document  f  showed  that  affairs  had  now  advanced 
very  far :  the  Arabs  were  given  four  months'  grace, 
after  which  the  Prophet  would  raid  them  if  they  did 
not  accept  Islam :  and  it  was  announced  that  after 
this  year  no  unbelievers  might  take  part  in  the  Pil- 
grimage. The  crime  of  keeping  people  from  God's 
house,  which  had  been  so  serious  when  the  Kuraish 
were  guilty  of  it,  assumed  a  different  aspect  when 
the  Apostle  had  the  power  to  perform  it.  The  un- 
happy notion  of  the   Prophet  with  regard  to  the 

*  In  Musnad,  i.,  3,  Abu  Bakr  is  said  to  have  been  recalled  in  or- 
der that  one  of  the  Prophet's  house  might  deliver  it :  but  this  looks 
like  a  Shi'ite  invention. 

\  Wellhausen,  Sturz,  14,  accepts  the  ordinary  date  for  this  docu- 
ment ;   Grimme  would  place  it  after  the  taking  of  Meccah. 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  43 1 

Calendar  was  enforced,  thereby  causing  the  ruin  of 
Meccan  commerce,  so  far  as  it  depended  on  the  Pil- 
grimage and  the  sacred  months  :  but  for  the  loss 
they  were  to  be  indemnified  by  the  plunder  of  Jews 
and  Christians,  whose  place  as  a  tributary  caste  had 
now  been  definitely  settled.  The  Prophet  was  not 
unaware  of  the  character  of  these  expedients :  he 
defended  them  by  a  series  of  charges  levelled  at  the 
persons  whom  he  was  now  bent  on  oppressing  or 
exterminating.  The  effects  of  the  recent  discontent 
at  Medinah  are  not  unapparent. 

The  delivery  of  the  manifesto  at  Meccah  now  led 
to  a  series  of  embassies  to  the  Prophet,  on  the  part 
of  persons  anxious  to  make  friends  with  the  new 
ruler  of  Arabia,  or  to  learn  about  his  system.  Petty 
princes  and  governors  of  tribes  or  provinces  were 
eager  to  obtain  confirmation  of  their  rights,  and  se- 
cure possession  of  the  domain  *  which  they  had 
appropriated,  or  possession  of  domain  which  had  be- 
longed to  some  god  :  and  since  war  had  been  pro- 
claimed against  all  who  did  not  accept  the  new 
system,  men  were  left  no  choice  but  either  to  come 
into  it,  or  prepare  to  fight  against  it.  The  icono- 
clasm  which  had  raged  in  Medinah  at  the  time  of 
the  Prophet's  arrival  spread  far  and  wide,  now  it 
had  been  clearly  proved  that  the  old  gods  were  in- 
capable of  defending  themselves  or  even  of  tak- 
ing vengeance  on  those  who  broke  them.  Facts 
which  had  remained  unheeded  for  generations  sud- 
denly began  to  suggest  important  inferences:  one 
man  observed  that  his  god  suffered  himself  to  be 

*Wellhausent  Reste,  107. 


432  Moham?ned 

desecrated  by  beasts,  and  declined  henceforward  to 
worship  a  deity  on  whom  the  foxes  staled.*  The 
persons  who  hurry  to  place  their  incense  on  the 
altar  of  success  are  familiar  figures  in  all  ages :  and 
many  a  comedy  was  enacted  at  those  visits.  Some 
of  the  visitors  f  professed  to  examine  the  prophetic 
claims  of  Mohammed  with  the  utmost  care :  they 
had  made  out  a  whole  series  of  questions  which  the 
Prophet  must  answer  satisfactorily  or  else  they 
would  have  none  of  him  :  they  required  the  most 
positive  assurances  on  one  subject  and  another,  that 
the  needs  of  tender  consciences  and  sceptical  in- 
tellects might  be  satisfied.  The  Prophet  succeeded 
in  satisfying  even  these  stern  examiners,  who  were 
then  confirmed  in  their  privileges,  or  accorded  fresh 
ones ;  some  trying  to  rob  their  neighbours  by 
trading  on  the  Prophet's  ignorance  of  local  condi- 
tions. %  Doughty  warriors,  who  had  won  fame  in 
many  a  fight,  came  to  express  their  conviction  in 
the  truth  of  Islam  :  a  poor  part  for  them  to  play 
perhaps,  which  they  endeavoured  to  lay  aside  so 
soon  as  the  Prophet  was  gone  ;  but  their  prowess 
and  command  of  the  camel  served  them  in  this  sort 
of  scramble  as  it  had  served  them  in  the  field.  A 
couple  of  chieftains  bethought  them  of  visiting  the 
Prophet,  and  had  arranged  that  while  one  occupied 
the  Prophet  with  his  questions  the  other  should 
plunge  his  dagger  into  God's  messenger.      Easier 


*  Isabah,  i.,  1012. 
\  Musnad,  i.,  264. 

\Ikd  Farid,  i.,   104.     Not  all  the   envoys  were   converted — Ibn 
Duraid,  236,  mentions  Wazar  Ibn  Jabir  in  this  context. 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  433 

said  than  done  !  'Amir  Ibn  Tufail  talked  glibly 
enough  with  the  Prophet  and  arrested  his  attention : 
but  his  colleague,  Abrad,  considered  the  fate  which 
Mohammed's  murderer  would  undergo  at  Medinah, 
and  the  native  hue  of  resolution  was  sicklied  o'er 
with  a  pale  cast  of  thought.  Abrad  accounted  for 
his  cowardice  by  a  miracle  :  during  the  interview  the 
Prophet  had  become  invisible,  so  that  Abrad  knew 
not  where  to  strike.  To  us  Charlotte  Corday's  con- 
duct seems  the  more  miraculous  of  the  two. 

Unlike  most  of  the  embassies  was  that  from  the 
Christian  state  of  Najran  :  the  one  community  of 
Arabian  Christians  of  whom  traces  are  left  in  the 
martyrology,  and  whose  sufferings  under  the  temp- 
orary rule  of  Jews  suggested  one  of  the  earliest  in- 
spirations of  the  Koran.  A  great  deputation  of  those 
persons  came  to  Medinah  :  they  expected,  it  would 
appear,  that  the  Prophet  would  welcome  them  as 
co-religionists,  and  indeed  declared  that  they  were 
"Moslems":  a  pretension  which  Mohammed  re- 
fused to  recognise  on  the  ground  of  certain  doc- 
trines and  practices  of  which  he  disapproved.  It  is 
stated  that  their  spokesman  was  anxious  to  argue 
with  him  about  the  nature  of  Christ :  supposing 
doubtless  that,  since  Mohammed  accepted  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Virgin  Birth,  his  view  of  this  difficult 
subject  would  not  differ  very  seriously  from  theirs ; 
or,  if  it  differed,  he  might  be  open  to  argument. 
Mohammed  knew  enough  about  Christianity  to  be 
aware  that  much  blood  had  been  shed  on  this  con- 
troversy :  but  instead  of  arguing,  which  would  have 
exposed  him  to  very  serious  disadvantage,  he  had 

38 


434  Mohammed 

recourse  to  revelation.  Some  years  before,  when 
endeavouring  to  obtain  a  refuge  for  his  followers  in 
Abyssinia,  he  had  composed  a  Gospel :  with  success, 
if  viewed  from  the  result.  All  he  had  now  to  do  was 
to  reproduce  this  Gospel,  insisting  on  the  points 
which  he  was  aware  that  the  Christians  of  Najran 
would  resent.  Finally,  if  this  direct  communication 
from  God  was  not  found  convincing,  he  was  com- 
missioned to  offer  what  seemed  reasonable  terms. 
Each  party  was  to  invoke  God's  curse  on  himself 
and  all  his  nearest  and  dearest  if  his  account  of  the 
matter  was  not  correct.  After  the  receipt  of  this 
message  the  delegates  desired  a  little  time  for  con- 
sideration. They  resolved  that  the  risk  of  invoking 
the  curse  was  too  great,  and  that  it  was  best  to  sub- 
mit to  the  tribute.  They  undertook  to  supply  each 
year  thirty  cuirasses  and  two  thousand  of  the  gar- 
ments which  were  manufactured  in  their  country  :  an 
undertaking  which  would  have  been  made  with  grim 
satisfaction  had  they  known  that  within  two  years 
some  of  their  garments  would  constitute  the  Pro- 
phet's winding  sheet.*  Omar  desired  to  be  sent  to 
administrate,  but  the  Prophet  preferred  the  less 
fanatical  Abu  Ubaidah. 

This  is  the  story  told  to  illustrate  the  passage 
in  Surah  iii.  in  which  the  Christians  are  invited  to 
this  simple  ordeal.  Of  its  truth  we  cannot  be  quite 
sure :  but  some  features  in  the  accounts  seem  vera- 
cious. If  the  Christian  leaders  refused  to  settle  the 
matter  by  the  process  recommended  from  Heaven, 
it  was  probably  because  they  regarded  it  as  a  trap : 

*  Musnad,  i.,  222. 


The  Settlement  of  A  rabia  43  5 

the  Prophet  would  merely  have  to  send  some  legions 
to  Najran,  with  orders  to  destroy  the  persons  on 
whom  destruction  had  been  invoked,  and  the  truth 
of  his  doctrine  would  be  demonstrated.  There  were 
persons  at  Medinah  ready  to  tell  them  some  of 
the  disasters  that  had  befallen  the  Jews,  who  had 
presumed  to  maintain  for  their  religion  a  position  of 
independence,  and  assure  them  that  their  submis- 
sion was  necessary,  if  physical  resistance  were  im- 
possible. The  Prophet  was  secure  of  a  triumph 
whether  they  accepted  the  challenge  or  refused  it : 
by  refusing  it  they  were  spared  some  bloody  scenes. 
Yet  the  refusal  of  the  Christians  to  acknowledge 
him  left  in  his  mind  no  less  bitterness  against  them 
than  he  had  harboured  against  the  Jews.  He  de- 
clared the  Najranites  and  the  Christian  Taghlibites  to 
be  the  two  worst  tribes  in  Arabia.*  He  forbade  fast- 
ing on  Friday,  f  doubtless  with  the  view  of  avoiding 
Christian  practice.  Ali  declared  that  the  Prophet 
had  left  him  private  instructions  to  turn  the  Christ- 
ians out  of  Najran.  %  Christians  and  Jews  were,  the 
Prophet  declared,  to  serve  as  substitutes  for  Mos- 
lems in  Hell-Fire.  §  Isolated  converts  from  Christ- 
ianity to  Islam,  such  as  Tamim  al-Dari,  who  came 
to  Medinah  about  this  time,  received  a  warm  wel- 
come, and  their  confirmation  of  the  Prophet's  state- 
ments was  loudly  advertised.  [ 


*  Afusnad,  iv. ,  387. 
\Ibid.y  iii.,  296. 
%Ibid%  i.,  87 
§  Muslim ,  ii.,  329. 
I  Ibid,  ii.,  380. 


Mohammed 


Of  other  visitors  there  are  stories  that  are  in- 
teresting, and  even  touching.  Tufail,  son  of  'Amr, 
who  had  offered  the  Prophet  a  refuge  in  his 
castle,  came  to  Medinah  bringing  with  him  a  friend, 
who  caught  the  Medinah  fever,  and  in  his  pain  cut 
off  his  ringers  till  he  bled  to  death.*  Zaid  of  the 
Horses,  a  chevalier  known  all  over  Arabia,  came 
with  a  number  of  the  Tay'ites,  heard  the  Prophet 
preach,  and  declared  himself  a  believer.  Others  of 
whose  fame  Mohammed  had  heard  disappointed 
him  when  he  saw  them  :  Zaid,  whose  feet  touched 
the  ground  when  he  rode  his  horse,  came  up  to  his 
reputation.  Wonderful  tales  are  told  of  this  hero, 
called  Zaid  of  the  Horses  because  he  possessed  many, 
whose  names  he  immortalised  in  verse.  He  played 
in  earnest  a  part  like  that  which  Beckwourth  played 
for  sport :  always  ready  for  a  fight,  helping  now 
one  tribe,  now  another ;  for  the  pleasure  of  war 
rushing  to  the  rescue  of  the  vanquished  ;  enriching 
the  poor  with  spoil  when  they  begged  of  him. 
Like  Odysseus  he  could  send  arrows  from  his  bow 
through  the  loops  of  a  strap  as  unfailingly  as  if  he 
had  inserted  them  with  his  fingers.  When  venge- 
ance for  blood  was  his  quest,  he  knew  no  mercy. 
At  times  he  took  feigned  names,  but  Zaid  of  the 
Horses  could  not  be  disguised.  His  life  was  the 
aimless  career  of  a  Knight-errant,  interesting  as  a 
romance,  useless  and  dangerous  to  any  state  that 
hoped  for  quiet  development.  Mohammed  wel- 
comed the  famous  warrior,  gave  him  of  the  gold 
which  Ali  had  sent  from  Yemen,  to  the  envy  of 


*  Musnady  iii.,  370. 


A  BEDOUIN  ON  A  CAMEL. 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  437 

both  Refugees  and  Helpers,*  assigned  him  lands 
and  honours,  and  hoped  to  direct  in  serious  warfare 
his  wasted  energies:  but  saw  in  him  ere  he  left 
Medinah  the  taint  of  fever,  contracted  by  a  short 
stay  in  its  pestilential  air :  whence  he  died  before 
he  reached  his  home.  And  his  wife,  unconverted, 
burned  the  rescript  of  the  Prophet  who,  claiming  to 
be  sent  from  Heaven,  was  less  resourceful  against 
sickness  than  the  humbler  medicine  man.  And 
other  deputations  of  persons,  who  had  intended  to 
embrace  Islam,  were  frightened  off  by  the  death 
of  some  of  their  numbers.^ 

The  son  of  another  of  the  Arabic  Knights,  'Adi 
Ibn  Hatim,  also  of  the  tribe  of  Tay,  was  brought 
into  the  fold.  His  father  had  been  a  famous  hero, 
and  so  great  was  the  reflected  glory  that  once 
when  taken  prisoner  by  a  raiding  tribe  he  had  been 
released  without  ransom.:):  As  the  Moslems  were 
gradually  forcing  Islam  on  the  whole  of  Arabia, 
this  man,  who  was  professedly  a  Christian,  fled 
towards  Syria,  having  prepared  for  the  contingency, 
but  waited  till  the  last  moment  to  carry  out  his 
project.  A  sister  of  his  was  taken  captive,  brought 
to  Medinah  and  released  by  Mohammed,  to  be  sent 
as  a  decoy  to  her  brother,  who,  not  to  be  outdone 
in  generosity,  could  do  no  less  than  come  to  Me- 
dinah with  an  open  mind  about  Mohammed's  pro- 
phetic mission,  of  which  a  very  little  experience 
was  sufficient  to  convince  him.     And   indeed  the 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  68. 
f  Isabah,  i.,  655. 
%  Ibn  Duraid%  224. 


438  Mohammed 

reasoning  of  the  Prophet  seems  to  have  been  power- 
ful enough.  He  pointed  out  (in  some  form  or 
other)  his  intention  of  spreading  a  pax  Islamica 
over  Arabia :  a  bond  of  religion  uniting  the  whole, 
firmer  even  than  "had  been  the  bond  of  blood 
uniting  the  clans :  and  what  then  would  become  of 
the  trade  of  such  men  as  'Adi  and  Hatim  his  father, 
who  had  lived  and  thrived  by  raiding?  The  advan- 
tage that  the  Christians  had  enjoyed,  by  being  free 
from  the  institution  of  the  sacred  months,  had  now 
become  common  to  the  greater  part  of  Arabia :  if 
therefore  marauding  was  to  be  done  at  all,  it  could 
be  best  practised  by  joining  the  new  power  to  prey 
upon  the  Christians.  The  son  of  Hatim  may  have 
seen  the  force  of  this  argument,  perhaps  faintly, 
yet  effectively  :  for  when,  after  Mohammed's  death, 
the  Arabs  rose,  hoping  to  shake  off  the  yoke,  he 
remained  steadfast,  and  sent  the  Alms.  Exile  and 
helplessness  had  taught  him  his  lesson.  For  the  rest 
this  Christian's  converse  with  Mohammed  seems  to 
have  been  less  on  points  of  doctrine  than  on  sub- 
jects connected  with  the  chase.*  With  his  name 
the  tradition  connects  the  curious  rule  that  dogs 
employed  in  coursing  must  have  the  name  of  God 
pronounced  over  them ;  game  killed  by  an  uncon- 
secrated  dog  is  unfit  for  food. 

And  so  one  by  one  the  Arabs  who  had  been  nom- 
inally Christians  became  nominally  or  actually  Mos- 
lems. The  change  in  most  cases  brought  no 
sacrifice:  the  Byzantine  power  was  not  ordinarily 
in  a  position  to  persecute.     The  governor  of  Ma'an 

*  Muslim,  ii.,  107,  io8f 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  439 

whom  they  imprisoned  first  and  then  crucified  was 
a  solitary  example. 

On  the  return  from  Tabuk  the  Prophet  was  met  by 
messengers  from  the  historic  state  of  Himyar,  bring- 
ing  a  letter  in  the  names  of  Al-Harith,  son  of  Abd 
Kulal  (in  a  poet's  opinion  the  second  best  man  in 
the  world*),  and  his  brothers  Nu'aim  and  Nu'man, 
KailyOr  chieftains,  of  Dhu  Ru'ain,  Ma'afir,  and  Ham- 
dan.  These  persons  had  been  invited  to  the  faith  two 
years  before  :  the  wary  chieftains  waited  for  fortune 
to  declare  herself  more  decidedly ;  and  when  they 
were  satisfied  about  it,  they  made  haste  to  show 
their  earnestness  by  killing  and  plundering.  Their 
letter  was  conveyed  by  a  man  of  the  clan  Ruha, 
of  the  Yemenite  tribe  Madhhij,  who  appears  to 
have  been  noted  for  his  beauty.  Besides  the  letter 
he  conveyed  some  private  intelligence,  which  Mo- 
hammed thanked  him  for  concealing  with  diligence. 
The  reply  was  on  parchment,  and  was  entrusted  to 
the  messenger  with  four  of  the  Prophet's  followers. 
It  is  said  to  have  run  as  follows : 

"  From  Mohammed,  God's  messenger,  the  Prophet,  to 
Al-Harith,  son  of  Abd  Kulal,  and  Nu'aim,  son  of  Abd 
Kulal,  and  Al-Nu'man,  chieftains  of  Dhu  Ru'ain,  Ma'afir, 
and  Hamdan  :  for  the  rest  I  praise  unto  you  God  than 
whom  there  is  no  other  God  :  next,  we  were  met  by  your 
messengers  on  our  return  from  the  land  of  Rum,  who 
met  us  at  Medinah,  and  conveyed  to  us  your  message, 
and  instructed  us  concerning  your  state,  and  showed 
us  how  you  had  become  Moslems  and  had  slain  the 

*  Jbn  Duraidy  308. 


440  Mohammed 

Idolators.  And  know  that  God  has  led  you  aright 
if  ye  shall  do  well,  and  obey  God  and  His  apostle, 
and  be  steadfast  in  prayer,  and  give  Alms,  and  bestow 
out  of  your  booty  God's  fifth,  and  the  Apostle's  share 
and  perquisite.  And  the  Alms  or  land  produce  which 
is  enjoined  on  the  Believers  is  a  tenth  of  what  is 
watered  by  springs  or  by  rain,  and  half  a  tenth  of 
what  is  watered  by  irrigation,  and  of  camels  one  female 
two  years  old  out  of  forty,  and  one  male  two  years 
old  out  of  thirty,  and  one  ewe  for  five  camels,  or  two 
ewes  for  ten.  And  for  every  forty  head  of  oxen  one 
cow,  and  for  thirty  a  calf  of  one  year,  a  she-calf  or  he- 
calf,  and  for  every  forty  sheep  a  ewe  that  can  feed  by 
itself:  for  this  is  the  prescribed  alms  which  God  pre- 
scribed for  the  Believers:  but  whoso  adds  thereunto  it 
is  well  for  him.  And  whoso  pays  it,  and  testifies  that 
he  is  a  Moslem,  and  helps  the  Believers  against  the 
Idolators,  he  is  one  of  the  Believers,  having  the  same 
rights  and  the  same  duties  as  they,  and  enjoys  the  pro- 
tection of  God  and  of  His  Apostle.  And  if  any  Jew  or 
Christian  become  a  Moslem,  he  is  one  of  the  Believers, 
with  the  same  rights  and  duties  as  they.  But  if  a  man 
persist  in  his  Judaism  or  Christianity,  he  shall  not  be 
made  to  leave  it,  but  shall  pay  the  Tribute,  a  dinar  of 
full  weight  for  every  male  or  female  of  mature  age, 
free  or  slave,  out  of  the  price  of  the  garments  which  they 
weave,  or  the  equivalent  thereof  in  garments.  And 
whoso  pays  this  unto  the  Apostle  of  God,  he  shall  enjoy 
the  protection  of  God  and  His  Apostle.  But  he  that 
withholds  it  shall  be  an  enemy  to  God  and  His  Apostle. 
And  know  that  God's  Apostle  Mohammed  the  Prophet 
has  sent  to  Zur'ah  Dhu  Yazan  saying:  When  my  messen- 
gers come  unto  you,  I  commend  them  unto  you,  Mu'adh, 
son  of  Jabal,  Abdallah,  son  of  Zaid,  Malik,  son  of  'Uba- 


o 

» 

CO 

A 

z 

■SI 

'u 

z 

n 

5 

u 

4 

CO 

" 

< 

CO 

= 

The  Settlement  of  Arabia  441 

dah,  'Ukbah,  son  of  Namir,  Malik,  son  of  Murrah,  and 
their  fellows.  Collect  ye  the  Alms  and  the  Tribute  from 
your  districts  and  bring  it  to  my  messengers,  so  that 
their  chief  Mu'adh,  son  of  Jabal,  shall  not  return  dis- 
contented. And  next,  Mohammed  testifies  that  there 
is  no  God  save  Allah,  and  that  he  is  His  servant  and 
Apostle.  And  know  that  Malik,  son  of  Murrah,  of  Edessa 
has  shown  me  how  thou  didst  become  a  Moslem  among 
the  first  of  Himyar,  and  didst  slay  the  Idolators.  and 
know  that  it  is  well  unto  thee,  and  I  bid  thee  do  good 
unto  Himyar:  deceive  not  neither  betray  each  other:  for 
God's  Apostle  is  the  patron  of  rich  and  poor  among  you. 
And  know  that  the  Alms  is  not  lawful  for  Mohammed 
nor  his  family:  it  is  a  charity  to  be  bestowed  on  the  poor 
of  the  Moslems  and  on  the  beggar.  And  know  that 
Malik  has  delivered  his  message,  and  kept  his  secret, 
and  I  bid  you  to  treat  him  well.  And  know  that  I  have 
sent  unto  you  of  the  best  of  my  company  and  of  the  pious 
and  learned  amongst  them,  and  I  bid  you  treat  them 
well,  for  our  eyes  are  turned  unto  them.  And  upon  you 
be  peace  and  God's  mercy  and  His  blessings." 

The  genuineness  of  this  letter  is  probably  beyond 
suspicion,  and  it  shows  that  the  Prophet  and  his 
new  subjects  understood  each  other  very  well.  The 
guidance  of  God,  Paradise,  and  all  other  religious 
topics  are  now  relegated  to  a  very  modest  place : 
the  main  thing  is  the  payment  of  taxes  by  Believers 
and  the  tolerated  sects.  Of  the  pious  and  learned 
official  who  is  sent  the  main  business  is  tax-collect- 
ing. Other  business  between  the  princes  and  the 
Prophet  was  of  too  private  a  nature  to  be  committed 
to  parchment :  the  messenger  had  his  instructions, 


442  Mohammed 

but  the  allusion  made  to  the  matter  is  faint.  The 
Prophet  carefully  clears  himself  of  the  charge  of 
having  a  personal  interest  in  the  collection  of  taxes : 
but  yet  also  provides  against  his  privy  purse  being 
quite  neglected. 

The  public  declaration  of  war  delivered  by  Ali  at 
the  Pilgrimage  of  the  year  9  was  thus  having  its 
effect.  It  might,  had  there  been  any  man  of  con- 
summate ability  in  Arabia,  have  led  to  a  union  of 
forces  in  defence  of  religious  liberty :  for  what  hap- 
pened at  the  Prophet's  death  showed  how  much  the 
Arabs  appreciated  the  Prayers  and  Alms.  If  how- 
ever any  persons  cared  to  fight,  it  was  not  for  liberty, 
but  for  their  gods  ;  and  Mohammed  had  certainly 
exposed  the  Arabian  deities  effectively :  their  houses 
and  images  had  been  destroyed,  scarcely  any  of  them 
having  made  even  a  display  of  resistance. 

In  general  it  was  Mohammed's  policy  not  to  dis- 
turb the  existing  order  of  affairs.  The  chieftains 
and  princes  who  gave  in  their  submission  to  Islam 
were  confirmed  in  their  rights,  and  even  retained 
their  old  titles:  the  Prophet  merely  sent  back  with 
them  an  official  whose  business  was  to  collect  the 
Alms,  and  tribute  where  there  were  any  Jews  or 
Christians,  and  another  who  was  to  instruct  the  new 
converts  in  the  principles  of  Islam,  and  especially  to 
conduct  the  religious  services,  and  recite  the  Koran. 
These  two  officials  formed  the  prototypes  of  the 
governors  still  sent  out  from  Islamic  capitals  to  the 
provinces.  Neither  of  them  at  first  was  meant  to 
reside  permanently  in  the  new  province.  The  for- 
mer paid  annual  visits,  returning  to  headquarters 


The  Settlement  of  Arabia  443 

when  he  had  goods  or  money  for  the  capital.  Thither 
the  tribute  certainly  went,  and  also  the  fifth  of  the 
spoil  which  Mohammed  claimed  for  himself.  The 
conditions  made  by  the  Prophet  rather  imply  that 
the  Alms  were  retained  in  the  province  to  be  distri- 
buted there  among  the  poorer  Believers.  We  have 
however  no  authentic  record  of  the  mode  in  which 
the  distribution  was  organised. 

Some  deaths  marked  this  year:  that  of  the 
Prophet's  daughter,  Umm  Kulthum,  who  had  after 
her  sister's  death  been  married  to  Othman  ;  and 
Abdallah,  son  of  Ubayy,  who  is  said  to  have 
sickened  and  died  shortly  after  the  retreat  from 
Tabuk.  He  had  however  long  been  harmless,  and 
his  death  now  made  little  difference.  A  scene 
which  romancers  have  tried  to  reproduce  is  Abdal- 
lah sending  for  the  Prophet  on  his  death-bed,  and 
even  then  maintaining  a  sort  of  proud  independence 
in  the  presence  of  the  man  who  had  so  often  out- 
witted and  humilated  him.  At  the  request  of  his 
son,*  the  Prophet  performed  his  obsequies,  not  with- 
out expostulation  from  Omar.  Another  death  which 
could  not  fail  to  move  the  Prophet  was  that  of  his 
Abyssinian  friend  at  Axum,  the  Negus  who  had 
nursed  Islam  when  it  was  likely  to  have  been 
extinguished. 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  371. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  LAST  YEAR 

AS  the  tenth  year  came  to  a  close  the  Prophet 
determined  to  lead  the  Pilgrimage  in  solemn 
state,  and  on  this  occasion  was  accompanied 
by  his  numerous  harem.  "  People  flocked  to  Me- 
dinah,  anxious  to  imitate  the  Prophet  and  do  as  he 
did:  he  started  on  the  20th  of  Dhu'l-Ka'dah  [Feb. 
17,  632],  and  we  went  with  him,— and  I  looked  and 
as  far  as  my  eye  could  reach  there  were  crowds 
of  riders  and  pedestrians  in  front  of  the  Prophet 
and  behind  him,  and  on  his  right  and  on  his  left."  * 
He  took  this  opportunity  of  fixing  for  ever  the  cere- 
monies which,  together,  bear  that  name :  rites  con- 
nected with  different  places,  and  commemorating 
very  different  events,  were  all  grouped  together, 
and  transferred  from  whatever  may  have  been 
their  original  purpose  to  the  cult  of  Abraham  and 
Ishmael.  Mohammed  took  care  that  the  neighbour- 
ing sanctuaries  should  as  far  as  possible  lose  their 
independent  local  significance,  be  brought  into  close 
and  necessary  connection  with  the  Ka'bah,  and  be- 

*  Jabir,  son  of  Abdallah,  in  Musnad,  iii.,  320.     Others  date  the 
expedition  some  days  later. 


>:  2 


The  Last  Year  445 

come,  so  to  speak,  dependencies  thereof ;  he  suc- 
ceeded so  well  that  there  is  no  longer  a  feast  of 
Arafat,  but  only  of  Meccah .*  A  solemn  address 
was  delivered  by  him  to  the  assembly,  all  of  them 
Moslems,  who  were  gathered  to  worship  and  to  be 
exhorted.  The  reproduction  of  it  which  his  tal- 
ented biographer  offers  can  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  authentic  f ;  yet  the  Prophet's  sermon  may  have 
dealt  with  the  same  subjects.  These  are  (among 
others)  the  doctrine  of  brotherhood  of  Islam :  that 
there  was  an  end  to  the  pride  in  ancestry  which 
marked  the  Days  of  Ignorance,  all  Arabs  who 
adopted  Islam  being  equal,  or  only  differentiated 
by  their  piety,  and  that  a  wholly  new  epoch  was 
started  by  its  introduction.  The  planets  had,  he 
declared,  come  back  to  the  places  in  which  they 
were  situated  when  the  world  began :  the  world 
was  to  begin  afresh,  and  no  pre-Islamic  feud  was 
to  be  permitted  to  survive.  On  the  other  hand  he 
had  no  intention  of  founding  a  communistic  state, 
and  urged  that  property  should  be  respected  no 
less  than  life.  Something  was  said  of  the  rights 
of  women,  and,  on  the  whole,  humane  treatment 
of  them  was  prescribed.  That  day  %  God  had  com- 
pleted their  religion ;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that 
for  a  great  length  of  time  the  Mohammedans  had  no 
need  of  legislators,  but  only  of  commentators  on  the 
law  which  their  founder  had  given  them.  Those  who 
wrote  the  history  of  that  day  make  the  Prophet 

*  Wellhausen,  Jteste,  70. 

f  It  is  discussed  by  Goldzifur%  M,  S.t  i.,  70-99. 

\AImnad,  i.,  28. 


446  Mohammed 

prophesy  that  it  might  be  his  last  visit  to  Meccah, 
and  it  is  known  as  the  "  Farewell  Pilgrimage." 

While  the  despatch  delivered  by  Ali  in  the  pre- 
vious year  represented  the  offensive  side  of  Islam, 
the  sermon  at  the  Farewell  Pilgrimage  insisted  on 
the  aspects  in  which  it  constituted  a  reformation 
of  previous  conditions.  The  sacrosanct  area  of 
previous  times  was  greatly  extended,  and  an  earnest 
attempt  made  by  the  Prophet  to  abolish  the  blood- 
feud.  The  only  cases  in  which  we  find  him  act 
with  severity  towards  his  followers  is  when  they 
carry  into  Islam  the  memory  of  the  feuds  of  former 
days  ;  and,  as  has  been  seen,  the  lessons  of  the  Fijar 
war  never  faded  from  his  mind.  But,  indeed,  the 
cross-division  occasioned  by  the  brotherhood  of 
Islam  left  little  room  for  the  tribal  feud.  Murder 
within  the  religious  community  became  a  crime 
which  the  ruling  authority  was  bound  to  punish  ; 
whereas  outside  the  community  it  became  a  mild 
offence  with  which  the  Moslem  rules  had  little  con- 
cern ;  it  being  the  business  of  Islam  to  attain  to  a 
degree  of  strength  which  would  render  retaliation 
on  the  part  of  the  outsiders  impossible. 

Hence  it  may  be  said  that  the  invention  of  an 
Islamic  brotherhood  secured  a  certain  degree  of 
peace  among  the  Arab  tribes.  On  the  sanctity  of 
that  brotherhood  the  Prophet  never  ceased  to  in- 
sist, whether  in  his  revelations,  or  in  his  ordinary 
sermons.*  Divine  punishment  was  threatened  for 
any    act   whereby   one    Moslem   injured   another.f 

*  Musnad,  iv. ,  66. 
\Ibid.,  229. 


The  Last  Year  447 

Like  members  of  the  same  body,  when  one  felt  pain 
all  others  must  necessarily  share  it.*  With  the 
same  idea  he  recommended  fathers  to  divide  their 
estates  equally  among  their  sons,  and  give  no 
preference  to  one.f  Raiding  (such  as  is  now  carried 
on  in  Arabia,  as  the  journal  of  the  murdered  Huber 
attests)  was  forbidden  ;  a  man  who  asked  whether 
he  might  go  raiding  with  his  tribe  was  told  that 
the  pride  of  Ignorance  was  over.£  For  a  time,  at 
any  rate,  the  tribe  showed  a  tendency  to  sink  to 
the  level  of  those  provincial  and  municipal  divisions 
which,  though  useful  for  the  purpose  of  organisa- 
tion, arouse  no  sentiments  comparable  in  force 
with  those  of  nationality  and  religion.  That  society 
is  an  institution  for  securing  life  and  property  was 
naturally  a  notion  which  neither  Mohammed  nor  his 
followers  ever  harboured  ;  but  the  abolition  of  the 
tribal  unity  certainly  rendered  better  government 
possible,  since  an  offender  could  no  longer  count  on 
being  backed  by  his  natural  allies.  Moreover,  that 
without  justice  the  state  could  not  exist  was  not 
unknown  to  Mohammed  ;  and  he  therefore  made  it 
characteristic  of  the  Moslems  that  they  should 
prescribe  right  and  forbid  wrong. 

The  notion  that  a  profound  difference  existed  be- 
tween intentional  and  unintentional  manslaughter 
appears  to  have  made  little  way  before  Islam,  ob- 
vious though  it  would  seem  to  be. 

Although  in  cases  of  the  latter  sort  the  Prophet 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  268. 

+  Ibid. 

\  Isabah,  ii.,  6. 


448  Mohammed 

ruled  that  the  slayer  be  handed  over  to  the  avenger 
of  the  slain,  he  informed  the  latter  that  he  would 
incur  Hell-Fire  if  he  exacted  the  penalty.*  But  for 
other  offences  it  was  the  merit  of  Islam  that  it  pro- 
vided both  a  system  by  which  they  could  be  checked, 
and  also  a  code  by  which  they  could  be  judged. 

Ever  since  the  taking  of  Meccah  the  Prophet  had 
worked  as  hard  as  the  most  industrious  of  sovereigns, 
organising  expeditions,  giving  audiences,  despatch- 
ing ambassadors,  dictating  letters ;  besides  hearing 
plaints,  administering  justice,  and  interpreting  the 
law.  He  worked  continuously,  allowing  himself  no 
day  of  rest.f  Always  ready  to  hear  and  take  advice, 
whatever  the  subject,  he  kept  all  the  reins  in  his 
own  hand  ;  and  till  his  death  managed  both  the  ex- 
ternal and  internal  affairs  of  the  vast  and  ever-grow- 
ing community  which  he  had  founded,  and  of  which 
he  was  both  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  head. 
In  later  times  a  whole  hierarchy  of  deputies  was 
established  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  those 
duties ;  and  in  the  Prophet's  time,  though  no  definite 
officer  as  yet  existed,  the  duties  attaching  to  such 
had  to  be  performed.  "  Kais,  son  of  Sa'd,  son  of 
'Ubadah,"  says  a  trustworthy  authority,  "  was  to  the 
Prophet  what  a  chief  of  the  guard  is  to  a  Caliph." 
As  political  secretary,  Abdallah,  son  of  Abu'l-Arkam, 
served  after  the  taking  of  Meccah  ;  though  converted 
so  late,  this  man  enjoyed  the  Prophet's  complete 
confidence,  and  was  even  allowed  to  answer  foreign 
correspondence  without  showing  his  replies  to  his 

*  Isabah,  i.,  1000. 

f  Musnad,  vi.,  55(Ayeshah). 


The  Last  Year  449 

master.  For  the  no  less  important  business  of  tak- 
ing down  "revelations,"  Zaid,  son  of  Thabit,  acted 
as  secretary;  on  him  afterwards  fell  the  duty  of 
publishing  the  Koran.  When  these  persons  were 
not  at  hand,  other  educated  Moslems  took  their 
place.* 

His  last  years  were  brightened  for  a  time  by  the 
birth  of  a  son  to  his  Coptic  concubine  Mary  whom 
he  acknowledged  as  his  own,  and  whom  he  called 
after  the  mythical  founder  of  his  religion,  Ibrahim. 
This  concubine  having  been  the  object  of  the 
extreme  envy  of  his  many  childless  wives,  the 
auspicious  event  occasioned  them  the  most  painful 
heartburnings ;  which  indeed  were  speedily  allayed 
by  the  death  of  the  child  (who  lived  only  eleven 
months) — it  is  unknown  whether  any  of  them  as- 
sisted nature.  The  survival  of  this  child  would  have 
enormously  complicated  the  beginnings  of  the 
Islamic  realm,  since  its  stability  was  certainly  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  Prophet's  immediate  successors 
were  the  most  earnest  believers  and  the  most  com- 
petent rulers  in  the  community,  and  the  men  who 
had  the  firmest  grasp  of  the  principles  by  which 
the  Prophet  had  won  his  successes. 

Besides  this  event  of  passing  importance  the 
Prophet's  matrimonial  affairs  went  on  as  they  had 
done  since  the  battle  of  Badr  had  first  given  him 
the  means  of  establishing  a  princely  harem.  His 
taste  being  generally  known,  and  doubtless  the  sub- 
ject of  much  concealed  amusement,  tribes  that  were 
anxious  to  gain  his  favour  presented  him  with  the 

*  Isabah. 

■g 


450  Mohammed 

fairest  of  their  women,  some  of  whom  indeed  took 
the  initiative  themselves ;  though  one  or  two  cases 
are  recorded  in  which  the  Prophet's  suit  was  re- 
jected.* The  history  of  these  persons  is  given  at 
length  in  one  of  the  biographies,  but  there  is  little 
in  it  that  repays  excerpting.  The  residence  of  some 
of  them  in  the  Prophet's  harem  was  short,  owing  to 
unsuitability  of  temper ;  in  one  or  more  cases  the 
newcomers  were  taught  by  the  jealous  wives  of  the 
Prophet  formularies  which,  uttered  by  them  in  ignor- 
ance of  the  meaning,  made  the  Prophet  discharge 
them  on  the  spot.  One  was  discharged  for  declar- 
ing on  the  death  of  the  infant  Ibrahim  that  had  his 
father  been  a  prophet,  he  would  not  have  died — a 
remarkable  exercise  of  the  "  reasoning  power."  f  Of 
the  whole  number  of  inmates  Ayeshah  alone  by  force 
of  character  and  keenness  of  wit  won  for  herself  a 
place  in  the  political  and  religious  history  of  Islam. 
By  the  Prophet's  death  she  had  scarcely  reached 
womanhood  according  to  European  ideas.  But  from 
the  time  of  her  emergence  from  childhood  till  her 
death  at  the  age  of  sixty-six,  she  exhibited  a  degree 
of  ability  and  unscrupulousness  which  should  earn 
her  a  place  beside  the  Agrippinas  and  Elizabeths  of 
history.  Fatimah  and  Zainab,  the  heroine  of  the 
Zaid  scandal,  in  vain  endeavoured  to  obtain  from  the 
Prophet  some  reduction  of  her  privileges  in  favour 
of  the  rest  of  the  harem  ;  Fatimah  was  told  that  she 
should  love  the  beloved  of  her  father,  and  Zainab, 
after   an    encounter  with   the    shrewish    favourite, 

*  Ibn  Duraid,  176.     The  lady  became  leprous  in  consequence. 
\Al-Kanz  al-Madfun^  5. 


The  Last  Year  45 1 

retired  hopelessly  vanquished.*  Just  as  when  a 
child  she  had,  by  manifesting  abhorrence  of  the 
Prophet,  riveted  his  fancy  on  her,  so  to  the  end  she 
possessed  the  art  of  making  herself  valued.  When 
her  husband  displeased  her,  she  refused  him  the 
title  Prophet  of  Allah  ;  and  regularly  submitted  his 
revelations  to  a  searching  criticism  which  would  have 
cost  an  ordinary  Moslem  his  head. 

A  more  healthy  and  respectable  form  of  domestic 
felicity  was  provided  by  the  Prophet's  grandchild- 
ren, the  family  of  AH  and  Fatimah.  Like  Jacob 
of  old  Mohammed  thought  of  his  grandsons  Hasan 
and  Husain  as  his  own  sons,  and  many  stories 
exist  to  illustrate  the  Prophet's  affection  for  them. 
Al- Hasan  was  said  to  resemble  his  grandfather  in 
face  more  closely  than  any  member  of  the  family ; 
when  the  former  prostrated  himself  in  prayer,  his 
grandchild  would  mount  upon  his  back ;  or  when 
the  Prophet  was  standing  Al- Hasan  would  plant  his 
feet  upon  his  grandfather's  and  climb  on  to  his 
breast.f  At  times  the  Prophet  would  appear  in 
public  with  one  of  the  grandsons  on  each  shoulder; 
and  legend,  unaided  by  art,  made  the  holy  family 
consist  of  Mohammed,  Fatimah,  and  the  two  boys ; 
in  time,  when  a  figure  corresponding  to  the  Christian 
Virgin  was  required,  Fatimah  could  take  the  place. 
The  relations  between  her  and  her  husband  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  of  the  most  peaceful  description, 
and  indeed  Ali  wished  to  espouse  in  addition  Abu 
J  aril's  daughter,  much  to  Fatimah's  indignation  J;  but 

*  Muslim i  ii.,  245. 

\  Cf.  Musnad,  iv.,  172.  %  Muslim*  ii.,  348. 


452 


Mohammed 


these  disputes  did  not  often  embitter  Mohammed's 
relations  with  either,  though  his  wives  were  naturally 
jealous  of  her  influence  and  of  her  offspring.  Born 
at  a  time  when  fortune  had  declared  herself  in  Mo- 
hammed's favour,  these  pampered  princes  received  a 
training  which  would  have  fitted  them  to  mount  a 
secure  throne,  but  by  no  means  prepared  them  for 
the  role  of  an  Augustus  or  Third  Napoleon.  The 
sons  of  the  bravest  of  champions,  the  grandsons  of 
the  astutest  of  statesmen,  the  one  proved  himself  a 
coward,  and  the  other  an  incompetent  leader ;  and 
they  transmitted  to  their  descendants  their  ill-for- 
tune, but  none  of  the  gifts  which  adorned  the 
founders  of  their  line.  The  Prophet's  affection  and 
his  blessings  were  of  no  efficacy  in  their  case. 

Besides  these  lineal  descendants  there  were  many 
nephews,  grand-nephews,  and  cousins  often  seen 
about  the  Prophet's  house ;  and  pleasing  stories 
were  told  of  the  games  which  the  Prophet  played 
with  them.*  But  even  with  his  grown-up  followers 
Mohammed  appears  at  times  to  have  thrown  aside 
the  gravity  which  belonged  to  his  office.  A  story 
which  appears  to  be  authentic  is  told  of  his  throwing 
his'arms  suddenly  from  behind  round  the  head  of  a 
dwarfish  convert  named  Zahir,  who  was  selling  goods 
in  the  market,  and  offering  him  for  sale.f  One  of 
his  followers  declared  that  the  Prophet  was  almost 
always  smiling.:):  The  nephews  and  cousins  who 
had  arrived  at  manhood  were  naturally  anxious  to 

*  Musnady  i.,  216. 
f  Ibn  Duraid,  168. 
%Musnad,  iv.,  191. 


The  Last  Year  453 

profit  by  their  relationship  to  the  great  man,  and  ap- 
plied for  posts  in  the  new  administration  ;  collector- 
ship  of  the  Alms  was  the  easiest  of  their  offices,  and 
the  one  that  offered  the  best  opportunities  for  pecula- 
tion. The  Prophet,  while  acknowledging  the  claims 
of  his  kin  to  support,  did  not  readily  grant  such 
requests,*  and  appears  in  no  case  to  have  injured  his 
administration  by  nepotism  ;  nor  did  he  allow  his 
relatives  to  interfere  with  the  course  of  justice.f 

The  deputations  form  a  more  important  chapter 
in  the  Prophet's  biography,  and  though  fact  and 
fiction  are  greatly  mixed  in  the  accounts  of  them 
which  have  reached  us,  there  is  no  question  of  their 
historical  character.  The  defeat  of  the  Hawazin 
had  decided  the  fate  of  Arabia.  After  that  event 
unimportant  raids  were  not  indeed  unfrequent ;  but 
the  greater  number  of  the  Arabian  dynasties  or  com- 
munities, in  all  parts  of  the  peninsula,  from  Yemen 
to  Bahrain,  from  Hadramaut  to  Yemamah,  hastened 
to  throw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  new  power. 
It  would  seem  that  the  boastful  chieftains  had  deeply 
ingrained  in  them  the  notion  that  they  must  be 
under  some  one's  suzerainty  ;  for  centuries  their 
suzerains  had  been  Byzantines  or  Persians;  by  a 
change  of  yoke  something  was  probably  to  be  gained, 
and  perhaps  the  waking  consciousness  of  nationality 
made  them  incline  to  a  suzerain  whose  language  was 
Arabic.  Moreover  the  achievements  of  Mohammed, 
and  the  exaggerated  reports  of  his  miraculous  powers, 
probably  determined  many  to  seek  his  favour  at  the 
earliest  opportunity. 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  166.         \Ibid.,  iii.,  395. 


454  Mohammed 

Throughout  the  correspondence,  of  which  frag- 
ments are  preserved,  the  Prophet  claims  the  right  to 
dispose  of  the  whole  of  Arabia,  of  Syria,*  and  even 
of  Egypt.  The  man  whose  example  Mohammed  is 
thought  to  have  followed  when  he  first  began  to 
prophesy,  the  forgotten  Maslamah  of  Yemamah, 
hoped  that  his  disciple  would  be  satisfied  with  half 
the  world,  and  asked,  perhaps  on  the  ground  of  his 
seniority,  for  the  right  to  dispose  of  the  other  half ; 
but  in  vain.  Two  prophets  cannot  exist  in  the 
world  at  once.  "  The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  He 
bestows  it  on  whom  He  will."  Squatting  in  his  poor 
apartment,  with  a  veil  over  his  face  and  a  palm- 
branch  in  his  hand,  the  outcast  of  Meccah  gave  and 
took  away  crowns,  granted  amnesties,  and  guaranteed 
rights,  bestowed  mines,f  forced  enemies  to  remain 
at  peace,  or  compelled  sluggards  to  go  to  war.  Each 
day's  couriers  would  seem  to  have  brought  messages 
from  places  whose  names  till  then  no  one  at  Medi- 
nah  had  heard.  What  surprises  us  as  much  as  any- 
thing is  that  the  same  language,  and  indeed  the  same 
script  (with  the  slightest  of  provincial  variations), 
would  appear  to  have  been  current  over  the  whole 
peninsula.  We  nowhere  hear  of  interpreters  being 
required  for  either  the  messengers  or  messages  from 
the  distant  communities  who  were  now  brought  into 
touch  with  the  Sanctuaries. 

Many  of  the  visitors'  names  which  were  redolent 
of  paganism,  or  were  otherwise  displeasing  to  the 
Prophet's  delicate  ear,  were  altered  by  him  to  some- 

*  Isabah,  iv.,  401  ;  Ibn  Duraid,  226. 
f  Musnad,  i.,  306. 


The  Last  Year  455 

thing  better.  So  "  Zaid  of  the  Stud,"  whose  fate 
has  been  described  already,  found  himself  renamed 
14  Zaid  of  the  Good  "  ;  "  the  Wolf,  son  of  the  Cub  " 
(Dhuaib  Ibn  Kulaib)  was  turned  into  "  Allah's  Serv- 
ant " ;  an  "Oppressor"  (Zalim)  was  altered  into  a 
"Well-doer"  (Rashid) ;  and  many  a  servant  of  an 
idol  was  compelled  to  call  himself  servant  of  Allah 
or  of  the  Rahman.  At  times  this  delicacy  extended 
itself  to  the  names  of  places:  "Wanderer"  from 
"Straying "  was  altered  into  " Directed  "  from  "  Direc- 
tion "  (Rashdan)  and  the  place  retained  its  new  name 
unto  all  time.  Sometimes  these  alterations  were 
not  to  the  taste  of  their  objects:  a  clan  named 
"Sons  of  Bastardy"  whom  he  wished  to  rename 
"Sons  of  Chastity"  preferred  the  title  by  which 
their  fathers  had  been  known.  Ordinarily  the 
visitors  were  too  anxious  to  secure  some  im- 
mediate benefit  from  their  visit  to  be  particular 
about  such  points.  Men  who  had  been  partners  in 
estates  hurried  to  Medinah  to  embrace  Islam,  in 
order  to  obtain  sole  possession.f  Recognising  that 
the  Prophet's  assignation  had  become  the  only  title 
to  property,  men  hastened  to  get  him  to  assign  them 
wells.J  Some,  distrusting  the  honesty  of  the  col- 
lectors of  Alms,  got  letters  from  the  Prophet,  secur- 
ing them  against  injustice.  § 

The   Prophet's   letters   were   now   known  to  be 
documents  of  terrible  seriousness.    If  any  disrespect 


*  Isabak,'\.,  701. 

\Ibid.,  i.,994. 

%  Ibid.,  i.,  1054  ;  Ibn  Duraid,  1 13. 

§  Musnad,  i.,  164. 


456  Mohammed 

were  shown  them,  it  was  speedily  avenged.  To 
Ru'ayyah,  of  Suhaim,  the  Prophet  wrote  a  letter, 
with  which  Ru'ayyah  patched  his  water-skin.  The 
Prophet  sent  a  force  which  captured  his  children  and 
all  his  possessions.  He  came  to  Medinah,  accepted 
Islam,  and  begged  that  his  children  and  his 
goods  might  be  restored.  The  latter  had  al- 
ready been  divided,  but  he  was  allowed  to  rescue 
the  former.  Whether  this  particular  story  be  true 
or  not,  it  is  a  type  of  many  actual  events.  From 
the  time  when  the  Prophet  first  governed  a  state,  he 
never  let  an  insult  remain  unavenged. 

The  last  of  the  deputations  was  that  of  the  Banu 
Nakha',  received  in  the  first  month  of  the  eleventh 
year,  and  said  to  consist  of  two  hundred  men  :  their 
home  was  in  Yemen. 

If  the  Prophet's  extraordinary  success  had  cast 
something  like  a  spell  over  the  whole  of  Arabia,  and 
subdued  the  pride  of  champions  who  had  never  re- 
cognised authority  before,  we  may  be  sure  that  to 
the  persons  in  his  immediate  neighbourhood,  who 
had  been  able  to  watch  his  progress,  the  supersti- 
tious reverence  which  attached  to  his  person  knew 
no  bounds.  The  occasions,  therefore,  on  which  he 
had  to  punish  any  one  who  had  adopted  Islam 
were  exceedingly  rare:  and  except  in  the  case  of 
Moslems  who  had  avenged  on  other  Moslems  in- 
juries which  dated  from  the  Days  of  Ignorance  his 
punishments  were  extraordinarily  mild.  Recognition 
of  his  prophetic  claim  was  to  the  end  a  sort  of 
incense  whose  perfume  never  staled.  In  one  case, 
that  of  Al-Hakam,  the  ancestor  of  the  future  dynasty 


The  Last  Year  457 

of  Marwan,  he  punished  an  offence  with  banishment 
to  the  charming  city  of  Ta'if ;  the  nature  of  the 
offence  is  not  certainly  known  ;  but  if  it  really  con- 
sisted, as  is  asserted,  in  intrusion  on  the  privacy  of 
the  Prophet,  the  penalty  was  not  severe.  When  a 
man  was  caught  in  open  treachery,  holding  private 
communication  with  the  Prophet's  enemies,  the  lat- 
ter refused  to  do  any  serious  mischief  to  one  who 
had  shared  the  perils  and  the  glories  of  Badr.  On 
the  other  hand,  his  ruling  in  the  case  of  the  Jews 
that  adultery  must  be  punished  by  stoning  led  him 
to  cause  this  barbarous  penalty  to  be  inflicted  on 
occasions  when  he  would  probably  have  desired  to 
be  less  severe,  and  even  suggested  to  the  culprit  to 
perjure  himself.*  He  is  said  to  have  crucified  one 
offender,  f  it  is  uncertain  for  what.  The  penalty  of 
death  was  also  exacted  by  him  in  the  case  of  a  man 
who,  after  pagan  usage,  married  his  father's  widow. £ 
In  two  cases  of  theft  on  the  part  of  Moslems  he 
carried  out  the  horrible  penalty  of  hand-cutting,§ 
which  his  code  retained  probably  rather  than  intro- 
duced,] and  which  was  clearly  not  to  his  liking  T ; 
and  one  of  the  heroes  of  Badr  **  even  was  repeatedly 
beaten  for  drunkenness,  against  the  wishes  of  Omar, 
who  would  have  exacted  a  severer  penalty.  A  man 
found  drunk  ff  on  the  day  of  Hunain  was  by  the 

* '  Uyun  al-akkbar,  95. 

f  Ibid.,  94. 

\  Musnad,  iv.,  292. 

%Isabah,  iii.,  792  ;  Musnad,  iii.,  395. 

||  Baihaki,  Mahasin,  395. 

Tf  Musnad,  iv.,  181. 

**  Isabah,  ii.,  S23.  \\  Musnad,  iv.,  88. 


458  Moha?nmed 

Prophet's  orders  beaten  with  all  available  instru- 
ments, while  the  Prophet  himself  pelted  the  offender 
with  clods.  In  dealing  with  enemies  he  often  showed 
what  may  be  called  a  good  heart:  violent  orders 
given  in  the  heat  of  passion  were  retracted  after  a 
little  reflection  ;  the  tradition  records  how  he  ordered 
some  enemies  if  caught  to  be  burned,  but  remem- 
bered in  time  that  it  was  the  privilege  of  God  to 
punish  with  fire.  The  Christian  Arabic  kings  had 
been  less  scrupulous,*  and  the  nineteenth  century 
had  begun  before  all  Christian  nations  had  attained 
to  this  degree  of  humanity.  The  one  case  on  re- 
cord in  which  Mohammed  exercised  ingenious 
cruelty  was  where  a  tribe  had  sent  for  missionaries, 
on  the  pretence  that  they  were  adopting  Islam,  and 
had  murdered  these  missionaries  on  their  arrival. 
The  culprits,  when  caught,  were  indeed  barbarously 
tortured.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  had  been 
provocation.  His  principle  was  however  averse  to 
such  practices ;  and  many  a  horror  was  afterwards 
prevented  by  the  knowledge  that  mutilation  and 
torture  were  forbidden  by  the  Prophet.f 

His  humanity  even  extended  itself  to  the  lower  cre- 
ation. He  forbade  the  employment  of  living  birds 
as  targets  for  marksmen  \ ;  and  remonstrated  with 
those  who  ill-treated  their  camels.  When  some  of 
his  followers  had  set  fire  to  an  anthill  he  compelled 
them   to   extinguish  it.  §     Foolish  acts  of  cruelty 

*  Ibn  Duraidy  230. 
\  Musnad,  iv. ,  292. 
%  Ibid.,  i.,  273. 
§  Ibid.,  396. 


The  Last  Year  459 

which  were  connected  with  old  superstitions  were 
swept  away  by  him  with  other  institutions  of 
paganism.  No  more  was  a  dead  man's  camel  to  be 
tied  to  his  tomb  to  perish  of  thirst  and  hunger.  * 
No  more  was  the  evil  eye  to  be  propitiated  by  the 
blinding  of  a  certain  proportion  of  the  herd.  No 
more  was  the  rain  to  be  conjured  by  tying  burning 
torches  to  the  tails  of  oxen  and  letting  them  loose 
among  the  cattle,  f  Horses  were  not  to  be  hit  on 
the  cheek %;  and  their  manes  and  tails  were  not  to 
be  cut,  the  former  being  meant  by  nature  for  their 
warmth,  and  the  latter  as  a  protection  against  flies.  § 
Asses  were  not  to  be  branded  or  hit  on  the  face.  | 
Even  the  cursing  of  cocks  T  and  camels  **  was  dis- 
couraged. When  a  woman  vowed  to  sacrifice  her 
camel  if  it  brought  her  safely  to  her  destination, 
the  Prophet  ridiculed  this  mode  of  rewarding  the 
beast's  services,  and  released  her  from  her  vow.  ft 

To  the  same  genuine  humanity  we  may  ascribe 
the  one  innovation  of  Islam  which  ordinarily  re- 
ceives praise  even  from  its  enemies:  the  abolition 
of  the  practice  of  burying  girls  alive.  The  tradition 
records  the  thrill  of  horror  with  which  the  Prophet 
heard  the  recital  of  a  man  who  had  covered  with 
earth  a  girl  whom  her  mother,  owing  to  the  father's 


*  Hariri,  Mak.,  xxxiii. 

f  Baihaki,  Mahas.,  441. 

%  Musnad,  iv.,  1 31. 

§  Ibid.,  183. 

I  Alusnad,  iii.,  323. 

1  Ibid.,  115. 

**  Ibid.,  420. 

f  f  Is/iak,  722.     Preserved  Smith  adds  some  more  examples. 


460  Mohammed 

absence,  had  ventured  to  save  and  bring  up.  Our 
sources  do  not  tell  us  within  what  limits  this  prac- 
tice prevailed :  some  of  the  archaeologists  confined 
it  to  particular  tribes,  whereas  from  the  Koran  we 
should  imagine  that  the  fate  of  each  daughter  born 
hung  in  the  balance.  On  the  other  hand  one  of  the 
women  who  adopted  Islam  at  the  taking  of  Meccah 
indignantly  repudiated  the  charge  of  infanticide. 
Though  modern  political  philosophy  would  view  the 
practice  with  less  severity  than  Mohammed,  regard- 
ing it  as  not  the  most  cruel  solution  of  an  apparently 
hopeless  problem,  recognition  is  due  to  the  human- 
ity which  prompted  the  prohibition,  both  in  raising 
the  estimation  of  the  weaker  sex,  and  in  hedging 
human  life  round  with  additional  sanctity. 

For  the  latter  Mohammed's  system  otherwise  ac- 
complished little  :  but  for  the  female  sex  it  certainly 
achieved  much,  and  there  too  it  is  best  to  hush 
the  voice  of  sentiment  and  treat  his  rules  and  in- 
novations as  an  attempt  to  grapple  with  a  hopeless 
problem :  hopeless  in  the  sense  that  no  community 
of  any  magnitude  has  ever  found  a  blanket  (to 
use  Isaiah's  image)  that  will  cover  the  whole  frame. 
The  seclusion  and  veiling  of  women  were,  as  Muir 
has  well  observed,  a  direct  consequence  of  poly- 
gamy and  facility  of  divorce.  Polygamy  is  itself 
an  attempt  at  solving  a  problem  which  Indo-Ger- 
manic  nations  solve  by  harbouring  prostitution. 
In  the  latter  system  a  portion  of  the  female  popula- 
tion is  wholly  degraded,  in  the  former  the  whole 
female  population  is  partially  degraded.  If  by 
the  introduction  of  the  veil   Mohammed  curtailed 


The  Last  Year  461 

women's  liberty,  he  undoubtedly  secured  for  them 
by  laws  the  rights  of  inheriting  and  holding  prop- 
erty, which  under  the  older  system  were  precarious. 
And  though  wife-beating  is  recommended  in  the 
Koran,  the  Prophet  himself  quite  certainly  never 
practised  it  *  ;  and  is  said  to  have  forbidden  their 
being  beaten  on  the  face,  or  reproached  except  in- 
doors, f  On  the  other  hand  he  deprived  them  of 
the  power  to  repudiate  their  partners  at  pleasure 
(by  altering  the  direction  of  the  tent),  while  retain- 
ing this  right  for  the  men.  \  The  abolition  of  slav- 
ery was  not  a  notion  that  ever  entered  the  Prophet's 
mind,  and  we  are  too  near  the  date  of  its  abolition 
in  Christian  countries  to  be  able  to  make  this  a 
reproach.  Some  of  his  regulations  in  the  matter 
were  humane :  the  parting  of  a  captive  mother 
from  her  child  was  forbidden,  and  threatened  with 
an  appropriate  punishment  in  the  next  world : 
those  who  committed  the  crime  would  there  be 
parted  from  their  friends.  §  The  parting  of  broth- 
ers when  sold  was  similarly  forbidden.  |  On  the 
other  hand  the  parting  of  husband  and  wife  was 
permitted :  captivity  ipso  facto  dissolved  marriage; 
and  the  captive  wife  might  at  once  become  the  concu- 
bine of  the  conqueror.  On  the  whole  however  the 
Prophet  did  something  to  alleviate  the  existence  of 
captives.     At  the  Farewell  Pilgrimage  he  is  said  to 


*  Musnad,  vi.,  32. 

f  Ibid.,  iv.,  447. 

X  Perron,  Femmes  Arabes,  127. 

§  Isabah,  ii.,  252. 

I  Musnad,  i.,  98.  * 


462  Mohammed 

have  ordered  his  followers  to  feed  and  clothe  their 
slaves  as  they  fed  and  clothed  themselves,  and  if  the 
slaves  offended,  to  sell  them  ratherthan  punish  them.* 
The  scourging  of  slaves  was  made  by  him  character- 
istic of  the  worst  of  men  f;  manumission  was  also 
declared  by  him  to  be  an  act  of  piety,  and  many  an 
offence  might  be  expiated  by  the  setting  free  of  a 
neck.  A  Himyari  chief  is  said  to  have  freed  four 
thousand  slaves  at  the  Prophet's  request.  %  A  sys- 
tem was  further  encouraged  by  which  slaves  might 
contract  for  their  own  manumission,  and  assistance 
of  such  persons  with  presents  was  regarded  by  the 
code  with  favour.  When  a  man  died  without  heirs, 
but  leaving  a  slave,  the  slave  was  manumitted  by 
the  Prophet,  §  and  received  the  inheritance.  His 
last  words  according  to  one  account  were  an  injunc- 
tion to  treat  concubines  with  mercy.  [  A  man  who 
shared  one  slave  with  seven  brothers,  and  had  cuffed 
the  slave,  was  made  to  manumit  him  1" ;  and  mur- 
der or  maiming  of  slaves  was  to  be  punished  by 
retaliation.  ** 

Some  of  the  legislation  which  was  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  occurrence  of  difficult  or  doubtful  cases 
was  embodied  in  the  Koran  :  even  at  an  early  period, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  revelations  were  the  result  of 
protracted  deliberation,  and  when  the  community 

*  Musnad,  iv.,  37. 
\  Jahiz,  Misers,  182. 
\  Ibn  Duraid,  308. 
§  Musnad,  \.,  221. 
I  Ibid.,  78. 
If  Ibid.,  iii..  447. 
**  Ibid.,  v.,  18. 


The  Last  Year  463 

had  come  to  be  numbered  by  myriads,  the  oracles 
by  which  it  was  to  be  guided  were  framed  with 
great  care.  To  his  elaborate  regulations  on  inherit- 
ance some  tribute  is  still  paid  by  those  who  in  India 
administer  the  law  according  to  them :  he  has  left 
out  no  member  of  the  family  who  can  have  any 
equitable  claims,  and,  so  far  as  his  arithmetical 
knowledge  went,  endeavoured  to  settle  those  claims 
fairly.  But  it  was  rarely  that  the  machinery  of  re- 
velation was  employed.  More  ordinarily  the  ques- 
tion which  had  to  be  settled  admitted  of  an  answer 
which  the  Prophet's  common-sense  could  improvise : 
there  were  persons  who  eagerly  noted  his  ruling, 
which  became  a  precedent  for  the  guidance  of  magis- 
trates. If  the  traditionalists  are  to  be  believed — 
and  their  theory  is  in  the  main  likely  to  be  correct — 
there  was  no  detail  of  conduct  too  trivial  to  be  made 
the  subject  of  an  appeal  to  the  Prophet,  much  of 
whose  time,  when  he  was  not  organising  or  ex- 
ecuting campaigns,  or  receiving  embassies,  must 
have  been  occupied  with  the  functions  of  judge. 
Where  his  own  kin  were  concerned,  he  did  not 
escape  the  charge  of  favouritism,  often  brought 
against  him  by  followers  who  thereby  incurred  seri- 
ous rebuke:  but  where  they  were  not  concerned, 
such  judgments  as  appear  to  be  faithfully  recorded 
exhibit  the  shrewdness  and  fairness  which  might  be 
expected.  Though  he  declared  his  system  to  be 
brand  new,  he  was  doubtless  under  the  influence  of 
custom  in  his  decisions. 

But  amid  all  the   duties   of   general,   legislator, 
judge,  and  diplomatist,  the  Prophet  did  not  neglect 


464  Mohammed 

those  of  preacher  and  teacher:  his  advice  was  de- 
manded on  all  possible  questions,  and  the  occasions 
were  few  on  which  he  failed  to  give  it.  Certain  sub- 
jects were  indeed  forbidden  :  questions  that  savoured 
of  metaphysics  or  rationalism  were  excluded ;  the 
Prophet  holding  (perhaps  rightly)  that  such  had 
been  the  occasion  of  infinite  mischief  to  the  religious 
systems  that  had  preceded  his.  A  rather  fantastic 
eschatology  is  indeed  ascribed  to  him  in  the  tra- 
dition, but  Parsee  influence  is  very  conspicuous  in 
this,  and  the  bulk,  if  not  the  whole,  may  safely  be 
ascribed  to  some  professional  inventor  of  tradition. 
Although  his  early  threats  of  the  approaching  end 
of  the  world  must  have  been  partly  forgotten  during 
these  eventful  years,  he  appears  to  have  maintained 
the  belief  in  a  modified  form :  asked  at  JVtedinah 
when  the  end  of  the  world  was  coming,  he  said  that 
a  boy  named  Mohammed  might,  if  he  lived,  witness 
it  before  he  was  an  old  man.*  Among  the  numer- 
ous sayings  ascribed  to  the  Prophet  we  should 
probably  regard  those  as  most  likely  to  be  genuine 
which  are  characterised  by  shrewd  common-sense. 
A  man  intending  to  marry  requested  the  prayers  of 
the  Prophet  that  he  might  find  a  good  wife.  The 
Prophet  told  him  that  marriages  were  made  in 
heaven,  and  that  his  prayers,  even  though  backed 
by  Michael  and  Gabriel,  could  make  no  difference,  f 
Men,  he  said,  are  like  camels;  out  of  a  hundred  you 
will  scarcely  find  one  fit  to  ride.  %    A  woman  is  like 

*  Musnad,  iii.,  270. 
f  Jahiz,  Mahasin,  218. 
\  Musnad \  ii.,  7. 


The  Last  Year  465 

a  rib;  if  you  try  to  straighten  her,  she  breaks.* 
However  old  a  man  be,  two  things  about  him  retain 
their  youth :  desire  for  money  and  desire  for  life,  f 
Asked  what  God  likes  best,  he  used  to  reply,  that 
in  which  a  man  persists  though  it  be  slight.  Being 
told  that  a  woman  had  vowed  to  make  the  pilgrim- 
age on  foot,  he  declared  that  God  could  do  well 
without  His  creatures  undergoing  voluntary  tor- 
ment. %  "  When  you  boil  your  meat  use  plenty  of 
water,  so  as  to  get  broth  in  quantity  even  if  you  do 
not  get  meat."  §  Being  asked  at  a  time  of  scarcity 
in  Medinah  to  regulate  the  price  of  provisions,  he 
replied  that  God  only  could  fix  the  prices.  || 

A  whole  series  of  aphorisms  is  probably  with  jus- 
tice ascribed  to  him,  in  which  he  recommended 
economy,  and  warned  against  lavish  generosity.  \ 
The  upper  hand  is  better  than  the  lower  (i.  e.,  to  be 
creditor  is  better  than  to  be  debtor).  Waste  of 
money  is  to  be  avoided  no  less  than  idle  loquacity. 
Charity  begins  at  home.  The  best  alms  are  such 
as  leave  wealth  behind.  These  aphorisms  are  the 
more  remarkable,  because  he  himself  was  never  able 
to  hoard  money,  and  died  in  debt. 

The  journey  from  Medinah  to  Meccah  which  has 
been  previously  described  appears  this  time  to  have 
been  more  than  the  Prophet's  strength  could  sup- 
port;  and  he  is  said  to  have  felt  signs  of  ill-health 

*  Musnad,  vi.,  278. 
f  Ibid,,  iii.,  256. 
%  Ibid.,  iv.,  143. 
§  Jahiz,  Misers,  12. 
I  Musnad,  iii.,  85. 
T  Jahiz,  Misers,  201. 


466  Mohammed 

immediately  after  his  return.  News  also  reached 
him  of  risings  in  South  Arabia,  which  however  did 
not  come  to  a  head  till  after  his  death ;  and  he  de- 
termined to  organise  an  expedition  against  the 
Byzantines  in  Syria  in  order  that  the  defeat  of 
Mutah  might  be  wiped  out.  As  leader  of  this  ex- 
pedition he  chose  the  son  of  Zaid,  Usamah,  a  proper 
person  to  avenge  his  father's  death,  yet  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  Moslems  unsuited  from  his  age,  which 
was  twenty,  to  command  an  army  destined  to  fight 
the  greatest  known  power.  Some  criticism  of  this 
appointment  reached  Mohammed's  ears,  to  which  he 
replied  with  bitterness.  It  would  appear  that  his 
mind  became  somewhat  unhinged  because  of  his 
illness ;  at  dead  of  night,  it  is  said,  a  fit  took  him  to 
go  out  to  the  cemetery  called  Al-Baki',  and  ask  for- 
giveness for  the  dead  who  were  buried  there.  This 
indeed  he  had  done  before ;  Ayeshah  once  followed 
him  like  a  detective  when  he  started  out  at  night, 
supposing  him  to  be  bent  on  some  amour:  but  his 
destination  she  found  was  the  graveyard.*  This 
time  he  roused  his  slave  or  freedman,  Abu  Muwai- 
hibah,  of  whom  little  is  otherwise  known,  whom  he 
bade  accompany  him  to  the  cemetery ;  there  he 
raised  his  hand  to  heaven  and  interceded  for  the 
dead  in  a  lengthy  prayer,  after  which  he  congratu- 
lated them  on  being  better  off  than  those  who  re- 
mained behind.  He  then  returned  to  Ayeshah  who 
complained  of  a  headache  ;  he  also  complained  of 
one  in  answer,  and  asked  Ayeshah  whether  it  would 
not  be  better  for  her  if  she  died  first,  since  she  would 

*  Alusnad.  vi.,  221. 


The  Last  Year  467 

have  the  advantage  of  having  her  obsequies  per- 
formed by  the  Prophet  of  God  ;  to  which  she  re- 
torted that  he  would  also  be  able  on  returning  to 
install  a  fresh  bride  in  her  place.  He  then  spent  the 
night  restlessly  wandering  over  his  harem  till  he  col- 
lapsed in  the  chamber  of  Maimunah ;  whence  he 
begged  to  be  transferred  to  the  chamber  of  the 
favourite  Ayeshah.  Thither  he  was  carried,  in  a 
high  fever,  by  some  of  his  relations  or  followers. 
Though  women  are  ordinarily  doctors  among  the 
Bedouins,*  and  indeed  a  woman  named  Rufaidah  f 
ordinarily  treated  the  wounded  at  Medinah,  male 
physicians  were  not  wholly  unknown  in  Arabia  at 
this  time,  and  one  Harith,  son  of  Kaldah,  a  man  of 
Ta'if,  enjoyed  a  great  reputation,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  called  in  by  the  Prophet  when  his  followers 
were  ill:):;  nor  is  the  tradition  wholly  silent  about 
male  physicians  resident  at  Medinah ;  a  Taimite  or 
Tamimite  physician,  Abu  Ramthah,§  had  offered  to 
remove  the  excrescence  on  the  Prophet's  back 
which  was  supposed  to  be  the  "  Stamp  of  Prophecy." 
Ayeshah  further  declared  that  the  Prophet's  health 
had  long  been  precarious,  and  that  his  numerous 
visitors  from  all  parts  of  Arabia  used  to  favour  him 
with  a  variety  of  prescriptions  which  she  used  to 
make  up.  I  But  of  course  the  Prophet  like  other 
prophets  was  himself  a  medicine  man,  and  was 
accustomed  to  heal  by  incantations,^"  cauterization, 

*  Wellhausen,  Reste,  161;  Ehe,  448. 

\Ibn  Sad II ,  ii.,  7. 

\  Muslim,  ii.,  184. 

§  Musnad,  iv.,  163;  /•/.,  iii.,  315. 

\Ibid.,  vi.,  67.         ^  Ibid.,  iv.,  259. 


468  Mohammed 

and  other  approved  methods.  He  had  therefore  in 
the  first  instance  to  prescribe  for  himself  in  virtue 
of  his  office,  and  demanded  a  cold-water  douche, 
which  was  carried  out  with  the  aid  of  a  bath  belong- 
ing to  one  of  his  wives.  The  ground  for  this  treat- 
ment was  that  fever  came  from  sparks  of  Hell-Fire, 
which  might  be  extinguished  with  water*;  just 
as  a  cold  bath  was  a  remedy  for  anger,  which 
had  a  similar  source,  f  The  douche  would  have 
probably  been  recommended  by  other  doctors  of 
the  time,  and  even  now  is  sometimes  prescribed  for 
the  reduction  of  temperature.  The  exact  conse- 
quences of  this  treatment  in  the  Prophet's  case  are 
not  recorded  ;  it  seems  however  to  have  ended  in 
convulsions  and  loss  of  consciousness,  from  which 
he  was  aroused  after  a  time  by  the  forcing  of  some 
Abyssinian  drug  into  his  mouth. 

The  accounts  of  what  happened  after  the  Prophet 
had  been  flung  on  the  bed  of  sickness  are  for  the 
most  part  untrustworthy,  evidently  fictions  intended 
to  support  the  political  interests  of  rival  claimants 
to  the  succession,  or  to  glorify  the  Prophet,  and 
make  his  death,  if  not  the  result  of  choice,  at  least 
foreknown — on  the  principle  which  has  already  been 
seen  at  work  in  the  accounts  of  his  defeat  at  Uhud. 
And  indeed  the  same  man  whose  advice  had  been 
followed  on  the  memorable  day  of  Badr,  Hubab,  son 
of  Al-Mundhir,  claimed  that  on  his  deathbed  too 
the  Prophet  followed  his  counsel :  asked  whether 
their  Prophet  should  go  or  stay,  the  other  Moslems 
desired  him  to  remain  with  them,  but  Hubab  coun« 

*  Musnad,  vi.,  91.         \IHd,t  iv.,  226. 


The  Last  Year  469 

selled  him  to  go  whither  his  Maker  summoned  him, 
and  to  this  counsel  the  Prophet  consented.  It 
appears  to  be  certain  that  he  fell  ill  on  a  Thursday 
and  died  on  a  Monday  ;  and  that  during  these  last 
days  Abu  Bakr,  probably  according  to  his  wont,  per- 
formed public  worship  in  his  stead.  Between  the 
stroke  and  his  death  there  may  or  may  not  have 
been  a  lucid  interval ;  Ayeshah  seems  to  have  de- 
clared that  there  was  none,  and  thereby  to  have 
refuted  the  pretensions  of  Ali  to  have  been  nomin- 
ated successor*:  but  her  interest  in  this  question 
deprives  her  evidence  of  some  of  its  value.  Thus 
she  refused  to  allow  that  Ali  was  one  of  those  who 
carried  the  Prophet  to  her  chamber.*)-  Moreover  her 
statements  appear  to  have  been  quite  inconsistent. 
In  one  account  she  makes  the  Prophet  lie  peace- 
fully with  a  cup  of  water  by  his  side,  with  which  he 
occasionally  moistened  his  brow — suffering  indeed 
terribly,  but  not  unconscious.'):  At  one  period  he  is 
said  to  have  asked  for  parchment  or  for  "  a  blade 
bone  "  and  ink,  that  he  might  write  a  body  of  rules 
for  the  guidance  of  Moslems ;  a  request  which  was 
attributed  to  delirium,  and  therefore  refused.  This 
anecdote  appears  to  be  genuine,  because  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  any  motive  which  can  have  led  to 
its  invention :  but  we  know  not  why  the  request 
should  have  been  refused.  Another  specimen  of  his 
dying  words  is  a  treble  injunction,  of  which  however 
the  third  member  was  forgotten  :  the  two  that  were 
remembered   were   a  desire  that   all  non-Moslems 


*  Bokhari,  ii.,  185. 

f  Afusnad,  vi.,  32.         \  Ibid.,  vi.,  34. 


4/o  Mohammed 

might  be  banished  from  the  Arabian  peninsula,  and 
a  request  that  deputations  might  be  paid  according 
to  the  rate  which  he  had  instituted.  This,  if  really 
said,  was  probably  said  in  delirium :  for  the  second 
precept  was  too  trivial  for  so  solemn  an  occasion ; 
and  the  first  (in  the  spirit  of  the  sanguinary  Omar) 
was  directly  opposed  to  the  policy  which  he  had 
urged  in  his  most  recent  dealings,  according  to 
which  Christians  and  Jews  were  to  be  left  undis- 
turbed provided  they  paid  a  poll-tax.  Another  utter- 
ance which  he  is  supposed  to  have  made  was  a  prayer 
for  assistance  in  bearing  the  pangs  of  death.  More 
credence  attaches  to  the  stories  that  the  pain  which 
he  endured  was  extremely  severe  and  that  owing  to 
the  fierceness  of  the  fever  he  could  not  endure  the 
hand  of  any  one  on  his  person.  Nor  is  it  necessary 
to  reject  a  story  that  he  told  his  daughter  Fatimah 
that  she  would  follow  him  speedily :  for  predictions 
of  this  sort  from  dying  mouths  seem  to  be  attested 
even  in  these  days — whatever  may  be  their  psycho- 
logical explanation. 

So  the  strong  man  was  stricken  down,  and  the 
business  of  Islam  was  for  the  time  at  a  standstill. 
Usamah  waited  with  his  army  outside  Medinah, 
not  knowing  whether  he  should  start,  since  perhaps 
the  need  for  fighting  was  over.  The  Moslems 
assembled  in  groups,  discussing  eventualities.  Ab- 
bas, the  uncle,  who  could  tell  from  the  look  of  a 
Hashimite  when  he  was  going  to  die,  would  have 
asked  the  Prophet  to  leave  the  throne  to  his  family ; 
but  AH  dissuaded  him,  urging  that  if  the  Prophet 
refused,  the  Moslems   would  never   give  it   them ; 


The  Last  Year  471 

whereas,  if  he  named  no  successor,  his  kin  would 
be  likely  to  succeed.* 

The  treatment  which  the  women  followed  is  not 
recorded,  and  is  not  likely  to  have  been  wise  or 
scientific.  The  length  of  time  occupied  by  the  fever 
is  also  uncertain  ;  but  probably  it  was  not  more  than 
five  days.  There  is  nothing  surprising  in  a  man  of 
over  sixty  succumbing  to  a  fever.  But  his  collapse 
may  have  been  helped  by  his  excesses,  or  (as  many 
thought)  by  the  poison  of  the  Jewess  of  Khaybar ; 
or  by  his  belief  that  water  could  not  be  contamin- 
ated, whence  he  drank  unhesitatingly  from  a  well 
that  served  as  a  sink ;  or  finally  by  the  anxieties  of 
royalty.  Presently,f  when  Ayeshah  was  nursing 
him,  his  head  sank,  and  a  drop  of  cold  moisture  fell 
from  his  mouth  on  the  hollow  of  her  chest.  The  in- 
experienced nurse  took  fright,  and  fancying  that  he 
had  fainted,  called  for  help ;  her  father  coming  in 
found  the  Prophet  dead.  On  Monday,  June  7,  632, 
the  curtains  were  drawn  and  the  Moslems  with  Abu 
Bakr  in  front  of  them  took  a  last  gaze  at  the  face  of 
their  Prophet,  which  looked  like  a  parchment  leaf  of 
the  Koran.J 

His  political  work  was  not  left  half  finished  at  his 
death :  he  had  founded  an  empire  with  a  religious 
and  a  political  capital ;  he  had  made  a  nation  of  a 
loose  agglomeration  of  tribes.  He  had  given 
them  a  rallying-point  in  their  common  religion,  and 
therein  discovered  a  bond  more  permanent  than  a 
dynasty.     The   old  faiths  which  had   survived   so 

*  Musnad,  i.,  263. 

\Ibid.,  vi.,  220.         \  Ibid.,  iii.,  no. 


472  Mohammed 

long  in  secluded  Arabia  had  been  given  their  death- 
blow :  some  of  their  practice  was  indeed  taken  over 
unaltered,  but  the  old  names  were  utterly  destroyed. 
"  Though  Mohammed  is  dead,  yet  is  Mohammed's 
God  not  dead." 

Twenty-three  years  had  transferred  him  from  his 
shop  in  Meccah  to  the  throne  of  an  empire  which 
threatened  to  engulf  the  world.  Had  he  lived  he 
could  scarcely  have  increased  it  faster  than  his  suc- 
cessors, though  the  brief  setback  in  the  period  of 
the  rebellion  might  have  been  avoided.  Broader- 
minded  than  Omar  he  might  have  made  Islam  weigh 
less  heavily  on  the  subject  populations :  though, 
having  no  notion  of  a  constitution,  he  could  not 
have  inaugurated  any  permanent  or  self-righting 
political  system. 

In  the  course  whereby  he  reached  his  eminence 
we  have  had  constantly  to  admire  a  genius  equal  to 
the  emergencies,  but,  if  the  phrase  be  intelligible, 
not  too  great  for  them.  Security  for  his  person  he 
wisely  regarded  as  the  first  condition  of  success :  a 
crown  would  be  useless  if  he  had  no  head  to  wear  it. 
He  also  held  that  chances  must  not  be  thrown  away, 
and  while  regularly  profiting  by  other  men's  scruples, 
allowed  no  scruples  to  stand  between  him  and  suc- 
cess. He  estimated  accurately  what  the  emergencies 
required,  and  did  not  waste  his  energies  in  giving 
them  more. 


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INDEX*  AND   GLOSSARY! 


'Abbas,  uncle  of  M.,  49,  169, 

271.  373 
Abbas,  son  of  Mirdas,  336, 

401 
'Abd,     'slave',     prefixed    to 

various  names  of  God  or 

gods  gives    proper  names 

of  men. 
Abdallah,  father  of  M.,  45 
— ,  son  of  Abu  '1-Arkam,  448 
— ,  son  of  Abu  Bakr,  207 
— ,  son  of  Abu  Rabi'ah,  159 
— ,  son  of  Jahsh,  244 
— ,  son  of  Jud'an,  54,  56 
— ,  son  of  Mas'ud,  98 
— ,  son    of    Rawahah,    267, 

275.  32,3.  359.  379 
— ,  son  of  Salam,  229 
— ,  son  of   Ubayy,  194,    225, 

285,    292,    315,    318,    356, 

34o,  419 
— ,  son  of  Zaid,  222 
Abd  al-Muttalib,  grandfather 

of  M.,  48,  49 
Abd  al- Rahman,  son  of  'Auf, 

99.  235 

hi  al-Rahman,  son  of  'Uya- 


Afa 

i"'ih,  353 
AM  Ifanaf,  clan,  165 
Abrad,  433 


Abraham,  unknown  to  Pagan 
Arabs,  73;  supposed  to 
have  been  an  iconoclast, 
107;  to  have  prayed  for 
his  father,  266 

Abu,  'father?,  prefixed  to 
another  name  gives  kun- 
yah,  a  sort  of  patronymic. 

Abu  'Afak,  satirist,  277 

Abu  'Amir,  'the  Monk,'  233, 
290,  424 

Abu  Bakr  converted,  83; 
165,  206 

Abu  Bara  'Amir,  312 

Abu  Dharr,  108 

Abu  Dirar,  339 

Abu  Hurairan,  352 

Abu  Jahl,  80,  128,  146,  153, 
247,  260 

Aim  Kabshah,  50 

Abu  Katadah,  355 

Abu  Kubais,  Mt.,  386 

Abu  Lahab,  uncle  of  M.,  123, 
153,  168;  death  of,  268 

Abu  "l-'Asi,  son-in-law  of  M., 

7i 
Abu  '1-Hukaik,  359 
Abu  '1-Kasim,  patronymic  of 

M.,  71 
Abu  Lubabah,  253,  331 
Abu    Muwaihibah,   slave    of 

M.,  466 


*  (M.  —  Mohammed.)    f  Arabic  words  in  italics,  and  transla- 
tion in  inverted  commas. 


473 


474 


Index  and  Glossary 


Abu  Ramthah,  467 

Abu  Sufyan,  son  of  Harb,  33, 
65 ;  his  character,  153 ;  253, 
271,290,297,303,319,375; 
converted,  385;  429 

Abu  Sufyan,  son  of  Al- 
Harith,    123,  366 

Abu  Talhah,  399 

Abu  Talib,  uncle  of  M.,  16, 
123;  his  death,  175 

Abu  'Ubaidah,  son  of  Al- 
Jarrah,  no,  266,  434 

Abwa,  burial-place  of  mother 
of  M.,  45 

Abyssinia,  36,  158 

Abyssinian  elements  in  Ko- 
ran, 96 

'Adal    and     Karah,     tribes, 

3°9 
'Adi,  son  of  Hatim,  437 
Adultery     punished      with 

stoning,  457 
'Ainain,  Mt.,  292 
'Akabah,  202 
— ,  second,  204 
'Akib,  son  of  Usaid,  409 
'Akil,  son  of  Abu  Talib,  212 
Al-Akhram,    of   tribe    Asad, 

354 
Al-Akra,  son  of  Habis,  415 
Alexander  the  Great,  137 
'AH,  son  of  Abu  Talib,  no, 

123,  208,  281,  295,  343 
Allah,   god  of  the   Kuraish, 

19,  143;  his  daughters,  142 
Alms,  412,  413 
Aminah,  mother  of  M.,  45 
'Amir,  son  of  Fuhairah,  208 
— ,  son  of  Tufail,  312,  433 
'Ammar,  son  of  Yasir,  108 
'Amr,  son  of  Abasah,  107 
— ,  son  of  Al-'Asi,  159,  374 
— ,  son  of  Al-Hadrami,  245, 

251 
— ,  son  of  Jahsh,  314 
— ,  son  of  Umayyah,  310 
'Amrah,  wife  of  crhurab,  291 
Anas,  son  of  Malik,  212 
— ,  son  of  Nadir,  299 


Ancestors  of  M.,  47 

Angels,  help  of,  at  Badr,  263, 
at  Hunain,  401 ;  said  to  be 
Allah's  daughters,  143 

Apostates  from  Islam,  158 

Arabs,  armour  of,  259; 
Christianity  of,  35;  gene- 
alogies of,  3,  4;  morality 
of,  28;  polygamy  among, 
26;  religion  of,  20 

Arbiters  in  pagan  times,  18 

'Arfajah,  son  of  Al-As'ad,  72 

'Arj,  211 

Al-Arkam,  108;  residence  of 
M.  in  his  house,  ibid. 

Armour  of  Arabs,  259 

As' ad,  son  of  Zurarah,  195, 
196,  202,  203,  213,  220,  230 

Asceticism,  discouraged  by 
M.,  173 

Ashtat,  345 

Aslam,  tribe,  211 

'Asma,    daughter   of   Unais, 

158 
— ,  poetess,  278 
Atonement,  Day  of,  240 
Aus,  tribe,  186,  193 
Axum,  157 
Ayeshah,  wife  of  M.,  61,  176, 

195,    234,    239,    321,    322, 

342,  418,  450 


B 


Badr,  battle  of,  255 

Badris,  'men  who  fought  at 

Badr,'  269 
Bakr,  clan  of  Kinanah,  382 
Banu,    'sons  of;  prefixed  to 

a  name,  serves  to  designate 

a  tribe,  38 
Banu  'Amir,  312 
Banu  Asad,  311 
Banu  Ashja',  323 
Banu  Harithah,  293 
Banu  Ka'b,  414 
Banu  Kainuka',  279 
Banu  Murrah,  323 
Banu  Mustalik,  341,  416 


Index  and  Glossary 


475 


Banu  Sa'd,  38,  51 
Banu  Salamah,  293 
Banu  Zuhrah,  45,  254 
Barrah,  wife  of  M.,  339 
Bible,  the,  in- Arabia,  42 
Biblical  phraseology  of  M.,  60 
Biblical    stories    in    Koran, 

107,  130 
Bilal,  muezzin  of  M.,  96,  222, 

387 
Bishr,  son  of  Al-Bara,  361 
— ,  son  of  Suf  yan,  414 
Black  Stone,  8;  kissing  of,  79 
Blood-feud,   32;  attitude  of 

M.  towards,  446 
Book,  people  of  the,  41 
Bostra,  1,  376 
Bu'ath,  battle  of,  195 
Budail,  son  of  Warka,  346, 

383 
Burning  alive  forbidden    by 

M.,  458 


Calendar  of  M.,  393 
Call  to  prayer,  222 
Camels,  262 
Caravans,  Meccan,  57 
Catechism,       Mohammedan, 

198 
Chase,  rules  for  the,  438 
Chieftains,  qualifications  of, 

ll 
Christianity  in  Arabia,  35 

Christians,  disputes  between, 
75;  M.'s  antipathy  to,  435 

Clans,  10 

Clients,  12,  199 

Clothes,  superstitions  con- 
nected with,  94 

Commissariat,  Meccan,  253 

Conversions,  order  of,  98 

Council-chamber  at  Meccah, 
72,  207 

Crucifixion  permitted  by  M., 

457 
Cruelty  to  animals  forbidden 
by  M.,  458.  459 


Dahhak,  399 

Damrah,  tribe,  242 

Dates,  payment  in,  at  Yath- 
rib,  191 

Daus,  tribe,  182 

Day  of  Judgment,  87,  127 

Deputations  to  M.,  431,  453 

Dhtmmis,  'members  of  toler- 
ated religions,  who  have  to 
pay  tribute  (jizyah),'  359 

Dhu  Kar,  battle  of,  34. 

Duh  Karad,  affair  of,  355. 

Dhu  l'-Hulaifah,  344 

Dhu  '1-Majaz,  184 

Dihyah  personated  by  Ga- 
briel, 366 

Dirges,  268 

Dissent,  commencement  of, 
in  Islam,  423 

Ditch,  battle  of,  325 

Dowries  of  women,  28 

Drunkenness,  how  punished, 

457 
Dumat-al-Jandal,  or   Duma, 

422 
Duraid,   son  of  Al-Simmah, 

395 


E 


Egypt,  57 

Elephant,  year  of  the,  37,  345 
Epilepsy,  46 

Excommunication,    at    Mec- 
cah, 167 


Fadak,  362 

Fairs,  of  pagan  days,  5,  393 

Fatimah,  daughter  of  M.,  236 

280,  282,  451,  470 
Fazarah,  tribe,  323 
Feast,  Meccan,  181 
Fever,    its    supposed    cause, 

468;  at  Medinah,  224,  437 
Fijar  wars,  54,  55.  3°* 


476 


Index  and  Glossary 


Food,  regulations  concern- 
ing, 77,  126 

Forts  at  Khaibar,  357;  at 
Yathrib,  190,  191 


Gabriel,  the  Angel,  91,  156, 

231,  360 
Games  of  Bedouins,  53 
Genealogies,  Arabian,  3,  4 
Ghailan,  son  of  Salamah,  403 
Ghassanides,  n 
Ghatafan,  collection  of  tribes, 

323 
Ghumaisa,  391 
Goddesses,  cult  of,  26 
Gospel,  translated  by  Wara- 

kah,  42 


H 


Hafsah,   daughter  of  Omar, 

307,  416,  417 
Hakim,    son   of   Hizam,    67, 

375 
Halik,  the  Christian,  237 
Hamzah,   uncle  of  M.,    155, 

240,  281,  295 
Hand-cutting  for  theft,  457 
Hanif,  'alternative  name  for 

Moslems,'  116 
Harb,  son  of  Umayyah,  56 
Al-Harith,  son  of  Abd  Kulal, 

439 
— ,  son  of  Abu  Halah,  120 
— ,  son  of  'Auf,  323 
— ,  son  of  Kaldah,  467 
— ,  son  of  Al-Simmah,  260 
— ,  son  of  'Umair,  377 
Harithah,  son  of  Al-Nu'man, 

223 
Al-Hasan,    grandson,    of   M. 

290 
Hashim,  ancestor  of  M.,   16, 

168 
Hasin,  son  of  'Ubaid,  142 
Hassan,  son  of  Thabit,  court- 
poet,  of  M.,  287,  341,  415 


Hatib,  son  of  Abu  Balta'ah, 

I©9.  371 
Hatib,    of    Mu'awiyah   clan, 

192 
Hatim  of  Tay,  436 
Haudhah,    son   of    'Ali,    38, 

37° 
Hawazin,  collection  of  tribes, 

54,  385,  395,  407 
Helpers  and  Refugees,  223 
Heraclius,  emperor,  366,  367, 

379 
Al-Hijr,   rock-tombs  at,    58, 

420 
Hind,    daughter   of    'Utbah, 

wife   of  Abu   Sufyan,    57, 

306,  390 
Hira,  Mt.,  90 
Hirah,  kings  of,  34,  54 
Hisham,  son  of  Al-'Asi,  205 
— ,  son  of  Mughirah,  1 1 
Horses,  love  of  M:  for,  53 
Houris,  88 
Hubab,  son  of  Al-Mundhir, 

258,  330,  468 
Hubal,  god  of  the  Kuraish, 

19;  his  oracle,  17 
Hud,  prophet,  131 
Hudaibiyah,    affair    of,    346 

Hudhail,  tribe,  309 
Hudhalites,  390 
Hulais,  son  of  'Alkamah,  346 
Hunain,  battle  of,  402 
Huyayy,  son  of  Akhtab,  315, 

327»33o»  359 
Hypocrites,  225 


'Ibad  and  Ibn  his  son,  Christ- 
ians of  Herah,  102 
Ibn  Kami'ah,  298 
Ibrahim,  son  of  M.,  369,  450 
Iconoclasm,  at  Medinah,  202 
Idolatry,  compromise  of  M. 

with,  173 
'Ikrimah,  son  of  Abu  Jahl, 
386 


Index  and  Glossary 


477 


Imru  'ulkais,  65 
Infanticide,  29,  459,  460 
Iyad,  son  of  Himar,  58 


J 


Jabr,  son  of  Abdallah,   106, 

369 
Ja'far,  son  of  Abu  Talib,  no, 

158,  380,  381 

ieddah,  6 
erusalem,  visit  of  M.  to,  130 
esus  of  Nazareth,  notions  of 
M.  about,  78,  93,  132 
Jewish  converts  to  Islam,  229 
Jewish    disputes    with     M., 

228-230 
Jewish  State  in  South  Arabia, 

36  ,    . 

Jews,  in  Arabia,  186;  then- 
practices  imitated  by  M., 
250;  avoided,  ibid. 

Ji'irranah,  406 

Jinn,  'spirits  of  the  desert,' 
62,  147 

Johanna,  son  of  Rubah,  421 

Juhainah,  tribe,  240,  243 

Julianists,  78 


Ka'b,  son  of  Asad,  327 

— ,  son  of  Al- Ashraf ,  286,315, 

3*7 
— ,  son  of  Malik,  293,  426 
— ,  son  of  Zuhair,  410 
Ka'bah,  8,  120,  240,  388 
Kahin,    'pagan   soothsayer,' 

lJ9 
Kail,    'chieftain'    in    South 

Arabia,  439 
.  collection  of  tribes,  55 
son  of  Nushbah,  42 
— ,  son  of  Al-Sa'ib,  68 
— ,  son  of  Sa'd,  son  of  'Uba- 

dah,  448 
Khabbab,    son   of   Al-Aratt, 

118,  163 


Khadijah,  wife  of  M.t  2,  67, 

93  ;  her  death,  175 
Khaibar,  355 

Khalid,  son  of  Hawaii,  58 
— ,  son  of  Sa'id,  98,  155 
— ,  son  of  Sinan,  80 
— ,    son    of    Al-Walid,    345; 

converted,    374;     recovers 

field  at  Uhud,  207,  attacks 

Jadhimah,  391 ;  rebuked  for 

savagery,  400,  423 
— ,  son  of  Zaid,  214 
Khandamah,  Mt.,  386 
Khazraj,  tribe,  186,  194,  195 
Khubaib,  309,  338 
Khuza'ah,  tribe,  10,  IX,  211, 

252,  339.  382 
Kiblah,  'direction  of  prayer, 

247 
King,  title  in  Arabia,  32 
Koran,  the,  104;  sources  of, 

107,  125,   145;  later  stage 

of,  217;  criticisms  on,  135, 

217 
Ku'aibah,  daughter  of  'Ut- 

bah,  237 
Kuba,  212 

Kulthum,  son  of  Hind,  212 
Kuraish,     tribe,      10;     their 

commercial     ability,      3  2 ; 

their  cowardice,  238 
Kuraizah,  Jewish  tribe,  187, 

330 
Kurz,  son  of  'Alkamah,  208 
Kusayy,  son  of  Kilab,  sup- 
posed founder  of  Meccah, 

10,  133 
Kuss,  son  of  Sa'idah,  43,  87 
Kutha,  10 


Labid,  son  of  Al-A'sam,  231 
Al-Lat,  goddess,  24 
Letters  of  M.,  365,  383,  439 
Levees  of  M.,  389 
Liauors,    spirituous,    forbid- 
den, 283 


478 


Index  and  Glossary 


Liver,    human,    used    as    a 

charm,  306 
Lord's    Prayer,    used    as    a 

spell,  62 
Lukaim  the  'Absite,  362 
Lukman,  22 


M 


Madonna,  picture  of,  said  to 

be  in  the  Ka'bah,  42,  387 
Magic,    Jewish    practice    of, 
189;  applied  to  M.  and  his 
followers,   232 
Maimunah,  wife  of  M.,  372 
Majannah,  184 
Majdi,  son  of  'Amr,  240 
Makhramah,  68 
Ma'kil,  son  of  Yasar,  347 
Malik,  son  of  'Ajlan,  187 
— ,    son    of    'Auf,    chief    of 
Hawazin,   395,   398;    con- 
verted, 403,  407,  427 
— ,  son  of  Murrah,  441 
Al-Ma'mun,  Caliph,  47 
Manslaughter,  27,  447 
Marriage  of  Arabs,  28 
Marriages  of  M.,  351 
Mary    (or    Mariyah),    Coptic 

concubine  of  M.,  369 
Mary  the  Virgin,  61,  451 
Maslamah,     or    Musailimah, 

81,  454 

Meccah,  described,  6  ff.; 
expedition  against,  384 

Mediums,  84 

Mentors  of  M.,  106 

Metics,  12 

Mikdad,  son  of  'Amr  or  Al- 
Aswad,  100,  322 

Miracles,  132,   180 

Mis'ar,  son  of  Rukhailah,  323 

Mohammed,  name,  50 

Mohammed,  son  of  Mas- 
lamah, 199,  358,  360 

Money-lenders  at  Meccah,  48 

Morality  of  Arabs,  28;  of 
Moslems,  149 

Mormons,  76 


Moses,  story  of,  as  conceived 

by  M.,  130 
Moslem  or  Muslim,  origin  of 

the  appellation,  116 
Mosque  of  Kuba,  423 
Mosque  of  Medinah,  214,  220 
Mu'adh,    son    of    Al-Harith, 

i95 
— ,  son  of  Jabal,  409 
Mu'awiyah,  son  of  Abu  Suf- 

yan, 310 
Mughirah,    son   of   Shu'bah, 

429 
Mujammi,  424 
Mukaukis,  the,  365,  369 
Al-Mundhir,       Ghassanide 

Prince,  38 
Munificence  of  M.,  408 
Muraisi',  339 
Mus'ab,  son  of  'Umair,  198, 

200,   215,   298 
Mutah,  battle  of,  379 
Mut'im,    son    of   'Adi,    168, 

180 
Muzainah,  tribe,  142 
Muzdalifah,  19 


N 


Nabit,  clan  at  Yathrib,  194 
Nadir,  tribe,  187,  189,  314 
Al-Nadir,  son  of  Harith,  135 
Nahum,  idol,  142 
Najran,  Christians  of,  37,  434; 

martyrs  of,  36 
Nakhlah,  244 
Nakibah,  395 
Names  altered  by  M.f  62,  224, 

455 
Nasr,  clan,  395 
Naufal,  son  of  Al-Harith,  271 
Negus,    king    of    Abyssinia, 

160,  363,  443 
Noah,  82 

Nu'aim,  son  of  Mas'ud,  328 
Nufai',  son  of  Al-Mu'alla,  214 
Nu'man,  son  of  Al-Mundhir, 

34 


Index  and  Glossary 


479 


Omar,  95;  his  conversion, 
162;  235,  236,  346,  387 

Opponents  of  M.,  123 

Oracle  of  Hubal,  19 

Othman,  son  of  'Affan,  96, 
346 

— ,  son  of  Maz'un,  99 


Parracide,  permitted  by  M., 
265 

Partners,  name  for  gods,  119 

Pater  Noster,  substitute  of 
M.  for,  103 

Persian  king,  367 

Persian  victory  over  By- 
zantines, 133 

Personal  characteristics  of 
M. ;  affectionate  nature,  7 1 ; 
appearance,  63,  64;  attire, 
6;  common-sense,  79;  con- 
jugal disputes,  418;  re- 
ligious convictions,  79; 
table  talk,  148;  tastes,  64 

Physicians  at  Medinah,  467 

Pilgrimage,  ceremonies  of, 
fixed  by  M.,   444;    lesser, 

372»  43o 

Pinchas,  son  of  Azariah,  231 

Poetry,  early,  60;  disap- 
proved by  M.,  ibid. 

Poets,  411 

Poison  administered  to  M., 
361 

Polygamy,  among  the  Arabs, 
26;  reasons  of  M.  for,  177; 
maintained  by  M.,  460 

Poverty  of  Refugees,  234 

Prayer,  Mohammedan,  103; 
used  as  drill,  258 

Preaching  of  M.,  127 

Precursors  of  M.,  42 

Prices  at  Meccah,  14 

Prophetic  office,  215 

Piophets,  Arabian,  131 


Rabah,  99 

Ran',  son  of  Malik,  195 
Rahman,  name  for  Allah,  143 
Raiding  forbidden  by  M.,  447 
Raihanah,  concubine  of  M., 

334 
Rakikah,  179 
Rakubah,    211 
Ramadan,  fasting  month,  90, 

247 
Rejeb,  sacred  month,  243 
Religion  of  Arabs,  20 
Repetition,  rhetorical  value 

of,  147  ,','"'* 

Resurrection,     doctrine     of, 

138,  139 
Revelation,  process  of,  86 
Rhymed  prose,  disapproved 

by  M.,  60 
Ru'ayyah,  456 
Rubah,  slave  of  M.,  353 
Rukayyah,  daughter  of  M., 

s 

Sabians,  117 

Sacred  months,  £,120 

Sa'd,  son   of   Abu  Wakkas, 

101,  122,  240,  243 
— ,  son  of  'Arar,  7 
— ,  son  of  Mu'adh,  199,  299, 

326,  331,  333 
— ,  son  of  Zaid,  332 
Safa,  Mt.,  108 
Safiyyah,   aunt  of  M.,   306, 

329 
— ,  wife  of  M.,  359 
Safra,  village,  256 
Safwan,  son  of  Al-Mu'attal, 

341,  343 
— ,  son  of  Umayyah,  302 
Sahl,  son  of  Hunaif,  260 
— ,  son  of  Wahb,  168 
Salamah,   son   of  Al-Akwa', 


i>53 


Sallam,  son  of  Abu  Hukaik, 
336 


480 


Index  and  Glossary 


Salman,  the  Persian,  324 

Salons  at  Meccah,  83 

Samaifa,'  80 

'  Sanctuary  ,'  hima,  doctrine 
of,  23 

Sarif,  373 

Satire,  274,  278 

Sauda,  wife  of  M.,  221,  276 

Sawik,  '  water-gruel, '  expe- 
dition, 319 

Self-assertion  of  M.,  80 

Shu'aib,  name  of  a  prophet, 

131 

Shurahbil,  son  of  'Amr,  377 

Sibyl,  85 

Simak,    son    of    Kharashah, 

260 
Sirius,  worship  of,  50 
Slaves,  kindly  treatment  of, 

enjoined  by  M.,  462 
Sleepers,  seven,  137 
Smith,  Joseph,  136 
Solemn  league  and  covenant, 

347 

Solitude,  period  of,  common 
in  prophetic  career,  90 

Soothsayers,  215 

Star  buck's  Psychology  of  Re- 
ligion cited,  7$ 

Su'aid,  son  of  Sahm,  5 

Suhaib,  son  of  Sinan,  108, 
212 

Suhail,  son  of  'Amr,  347,  386 

Sulaim,  tribe,  14,  323,  399, 
407 

Surah  of  Joseph,  106 

Suwaid,  son  of  Kais,  68 

Suwailim,  a  Jew,  419 


Tabu,  23 

Tabuk,  expedition  to,  418 
Tahannuth,  'asceticism,'  90 
Ta'if,   Meccan  villas  at,   48; 

people  of,   178;  described, 

402;  428 
Talhah,  son  of  'Ubaidallah, 

100,  212 


Tamim,  tribe,  414 
Tamim  al-Dari,  435 
Taverns,  discussions  at,  42 
Tay,  tribe  of,  39 
Thabit,  son  of  Kais,  415 
Thakif,  tribe,  395 
Tha'labah  of  Dhubyan,  193 
Thamud,  tribe,  420 
Thaur,    Mt.,    208 
Trades,    at    Meccah,    13;    of 

Refugees,  235 
Tufail,  son  of  'Amr,  182 
Tulaib,  son  of  'Umair,  169 


U 


'Ubadah,    son   of   Al-Samit, 

285 
— ,  son  of  Harith,  240 
Uhud,  Mt.,  scene  of  battle, 

294 
Ukaidir,  422 

'Ukaz,  fair  at,  5,  43,  54,  184 
'Ukbah,  son  of  Mu'ait,  98 
— ,  son  of  Namir,  441 
'Umair,  son  of  Umayyah,  277 
'Umarah,    son   of   Al-Walid, 

124 
Umm     Hani,     Abu     Talib's 

daughter,  66 
Umm  Kulthum,  daughter  of 

M.,  291 
Umm  Salamah,  158,  167,  348 
'Uraid,  292 
'Urwah,  son  of  Mas'ud,  403, 

410,  427 
Usaid,  son  of  Huraith,  199 
'Usfan,  210 
'Ushairah  raid,  242 
'Utarid,  son  of  Ha  jib,  415 
'Utbah,  son  of  Ghazwan,  100, 

244 
— ,  son  of  Rabi'ah,  146,  195, 

246,  260 
— ,  son  of  Usaid,  350 
'Uyainah,  son  of  Hisn,  323, 

414 
Al-'Uzza,  goddess,  24 


Index  and  Glossary 


481 


Veil  worn  by  M.,  105 
Visitors'  tax  at  Meccah,  9 

W 

Waddan,  244 

Wakid,  son  of  Abdallah,  245 

Warakah,  son  of  Naufal,  42, 

67.  97 
Wedding-feasts  of  M.,  320 
Wedding-gifts  of  women,  351 
Wife-beating,    among    Mos- 
lems,  150,   164;  not  prac- 
tised by  M.,  461 
Wine,    abstention    from    in 
pagan  times,  43 ;  forbidden 
by  M.,  283 
"Wisdom,  The,"  148 
Wives   of  M.,  draw  lots  to 

accompany  him,  341 
Women  fighters,  291 
Women,  status  of,  30;  regu- 
lations of   M.   concerning, 
460,    461;    their    acquies- 
cence in  captivity,  361 
Writing  at  Meccah,  271;    at 
Yathrib,  191 


Yajuj,  371 

Yanbo,  242 

Yathrib,  old  name  for  Me- 

dinah,  99;  described,  182, 

185 
Yazid,  son  of  Al-Harith,  193 
Yemamah,  81 
Yemen  visited  by  M.,  58 


Zaid,  son  of  'Amr,  25,  99 
— ,  son  of  Al-Dathinnah,  309 
— ,  son  of  Harithah,  adopted 

son  of    M.,  67,   289,   319, 

321 
Zaid  of  the  Horses,  436 
Zainab,  daughter  of  M.,  71 
— ,  wife  of  M.,  daughter  of 

Jahsh,  320 
Zainab,  wife  of  Sallam,  361 
Zarka,  254 
Zemzem,  well  of,  48 
Zubair,  uncle  of  M.,  56,  78 
— ,  son  of  'Aw warn,  100,  327 
Zuhair,  quoted,  78 


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